His statement echoes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's words that Russia is trying to prolong the war by delivering maximum cynical strikes on a daily basis.
“Russians have not abandoned their plans for offensive actions this summer,” Kovalenko wrote.
He added that everything Russia is doing in the negotiation track with the United States is merely a tactic to buy time.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), wrote in their April 3 report that Russia seeks to exploit any partial ceasefire and upcoming peace talks to eventually seize more Ukrainian territory and install a pro-Russian puppet government in Kyiv.
However, the analysts stressed that Russia will likely continue military operations in Ukraine even if the Kremlin cannot achieve full capitulation through diplomacy.
On April 13, President Trump said that peace talks to end the war in Ukraine could move forward successfully, though in his words, “the time has come to either act or be quiet.”
“I think the relationship between Ukraine and Russia can develop normally — and you’ll find out about it very soon,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.