On Thursday night, Vladimir Putin appeared to send a very pointed message to Donald Trump. Despite Trump’s efforts to revive peace talks, Russian forces launched a heavy round of aerial strikes across Ukraine, hitting several key targets.
One of the most notable strikes was on a Flex electronics factory in Mukachevo, located in Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region. Flex, originally founded in Silicon Valley and now headquartered in Austin, Texas, is a major multinational company with plants in over 30 countries. The Ukrainian facility produces household appliances and employed around 600 workers at the time of the attack. Reports say at least 15 people were injured, with one in critical condition.
This comes just days after Trump met Putin in Alaska on August 15, hoping to jump-start stalled ceasefire talks. Following that meeting, Trump brought European and NATO leaders together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. He floated the idea that Ukraine might have to cede the Donbas region in exchange for a ceasefire, while also suggesting that Washington could back Kyiv with security guarantees, including “air support.”
Trump, ever confident, even told French President Emmanuel Macron that he believed Putin wanted to “make a deal for me.” But the timing of Russia’s strikes seems to suggest otherwise. Ukrainian officials openly described the attacks as Putin “sending a signal” to Trump, making it clear that Moscow isn’t ready to give ground.
Adding to the uncertainty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the possibility of a quick summit between Putin and Zelensky. He insisted that any such talks would need to be carefully staged, beginning with lower-level expert meetings before moving to the leaders themselves.
What’s clear is that Trump’s optimism doesn’t line up with Putin’s latest actions. If the goal was to demonstrate goodwill, the Kremlin chose the opposite path.
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