▲ U.S. President Donald Trump attending the G7 summit
Russia has publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the mediation role of the United States, following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump recently praised Ukraine's long-range drone capabilities against Russia and agreed to additional sanctions on the Russian energy sector.
On June 23 (local time), the British daily Financial Times, citing multiple sources, reported that President Trump was "hugely impressed and enthusiastic" during last week's Group of Seven (G7) summit regarding Ukraine's recent drone operations targeting sites deep inside Russian territory.
These remarks come amid assessments that the Ukrainian military is having a significant impact on the battlefield by using medium- and long-range drones to expand its strike range beyond Russian military supply chains to include oil infrastructure and military facilities deep inside Russia.
President Trump also reportedly agreed to additional sanctions on the Russian energy sector during the summit.
Russia is not hiding its discomfort.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at a foreign policy event in Moscow on Tuesday, criticized the U.S., saying it "seems to be stepping back from the role of an objective mediator" in the war in Ukraine.
He added, "We will focus on achieving our goals on the basis that all hopes the U.S. could be an honest mediator collapsed long ago."
Russia's backlash is interpreted as coinciding with a shifting perception within the U.S., where the previous belief that Russia was winning the war in Ukraine is being shaken.
According to the Financial Times, while U.S. intelligence agencies assessed as recently as March that Russia held the upper hand in the war, there is a growing view lately that Russia may fail to achieve its war objectives.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said during a Senate hearing this month, "They are not going to achieve the objectives they set out on day one, for certain."
European nations are also paying close attention to this shift in perception regarding the balance of power in the Ukraine war.
A senior NATO military official said, "If Ukraine receives sufficient support, it can produce real operational results," adding, "The Russian defensive lines are not impenetrable."
Senior Ukrainian government officials are also reportedly sensing signals that President Trump is becoming more favorable toward expanding support for Ukraine and is increasingly willing to pressure Russia to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently noted after a meeting with President Trump that the U.S. side showed a positive response for the first time regarding the licensing of Patriot interceptor missile production.
However, they remain cautious about whether actual policy changes will materialize, noting that President Trump has a history of reversing promises and has frequently spoken favorably of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Furthermore, U.S.-led peace negotiations have remained deadlocked without significant progress since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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