Russia weighs escalating strikes on Ukraine as Kremlin sees peace talks at dead end - Bloomberg
Russia is considering intensifying attacks on Ukraine, including ballistic missile strikes on central Kyiv and infrastructure in other cities, as the Kremlin believes negotiations to end the war have effectively reached a dead end, Bloomberg reported, citing people close to the Kremlin.
Three people familiar with the Kremlin’s thinking told Bloomberg that Moscow is currently weighing an escalation of conventional ballistic missile attacks. They said the current level of hostilities is not considered the peak of possible military escalation.
According to the sources, the Kremlin increasingly views Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and logistics infrastructure as attacks by NATO countries because Kyiv receives weapons and intelligence from alliance members.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Bloomberg that Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s economic and trade infrastructure would receive a “heavy response,” although he said Moscow did not need a broader military escalation because Russian forces were advancing on the battlefield.
Bloomberg reported that diplomatic frameworks for ending the war have effectively collapsed. Moscow has also abandoned reliance on what it believed was an understanding reached between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump at their summit in Alaska in August 2025.
According to the outlet, the Kremlin believed that understanding would involve Washington pressuring Ukraine to surrender the remaining Ukrainian-held parts of Donetsk Oblast. Ukraine has consistently rejected Russian demands to give up territory that Moscow has failed to capture militarily.
U.S. efforts to broker an end to the war have so far failed to produce a breakthrough. Moscow has low expectations that planned visits by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could change the situation, although Russia hopes they may bring new proposals, Bloomberg reported.
The outlet also reported increased discussion among Russian officials about the possibility that Putin could eventually resort to tactical nuclear weapons as a last resort if the conflict continues to escalate.
However, Bloomberg stressed that there are currently no signs that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told the outlet that the risk remains “extremely low,” in part because Russia still has significant room to escalate using conventional weapons.
The report comes as Russia carried out a large-scale attack on Ukraine overnight on August 27, launching 258 drones as well as ballistic and anti-ship missiles. Russian drone attacks on Kyiv continued into the late morning.