Russia is readying its troops for a “long war” with Ukraine as it builds up a 50,000-strong force on Kharkiv’s border.

Although Donald Trump wants to resume peace discussions following a “frank” conversation with Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian intelligence indicates that the autocrat has no plans to end the war, warned Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz has revealed he anticipates a drawn-out war in Ukraine due to Russia’s reluctance to reach peace.

During a joint press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, he stated: “Wars usually conclude due to economic or military depletion on one or both sides, and in this conflict, we’re evidently still far from that point.”

“So we may have to prepare for a longer duration.”

Merz expressed his skepticism regarding the war’s end soon, following news that “mad Vlad” is assembling a 50,000-strong force near the Kharkiv border.

The Ukrainian military in April reported that the Kremlin was amassing troops to prepare for a fresh assault on Ukraine’s second largest city.

And Zelensky also said that Moscow has been attempting to gain ground in the border regions of Sumy in the northeast.

Military analysts believe the Russian tyrant is trying to press home his advantage and capture more Ukrainian land.

They warn that he only has a “four-month window” to get a breakthrough in Ukraine this year.

And this could be the beginning of Russia’s summer offensive targeting the border city of Kharkiv – the “fortress” city of Ukraine which put up the maximum resistance at the start of the invasion.

Putin is said to have deployed 50,000 soldiers – including troops from North Korea – to regain the land he lost. 

Some of the soldiers were reportedly part of the Kursk counteroffensive too.

Military analyst Professor Michael Clarke told Sky News: “If they have left those units there, that would suggest they want them to spearhead something else.”

Defence experts say Moscow could – at least – try to get back the land they lost back in 2022 when Ukraine launched its counteroffensive, if not launch direct attacks on the cities.

And military expert Dr Jack Watling said Russia will likely “soft launch” its military instead of mobilising large army units.

This is because even though Russia is hellbent on continuing the bloody war, it does not have the resources to sustain a large-scale ground offensive, experts argue.

Meanwhile Zelensky has said there is “currently no indication” that mad Vlad is “seriously considering” peace in war-torn Ukraine – despite numerous calls and meetings with the US.

The brave Ukrainian leader added that instead, there is “ample evidence” that a new offensive is being prepared.

Zelensky’s words of warning come after weekend-long exchange of long-range cross-border drone attacks between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia launched 60 drones at Ukraine overnight, injuring several people, officials in Kyiv said on Tuesday – marking a significant decrease in the intensity of Russian attacks compared to the previous three nights of relentless aerial attacks.

After a record barrage of 355 drones were launched by mad Vlad on Sunday night, Trump said the tyrant had “gone absolutely CRAZY” and threatened to impose sanctions.

Despite Trump’s stern words, Russia is said to have seized multiple villages inside Ukraine’s Sumy region.

The governor of the region on the Russian border said that Russian forces had captured four villages as part of an attempt to create a “buffer zone” on Ukrainian territory.

Unconfirmed reports of captured villages in Sumy emerged from Russian media over the past few days, with the region having come under frequent Russian air strikes for months.

Sumy Region Governor Oleh Hryhorov listed four villages inside the border that he said were now held by Russian forces – Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka and Zhuravka.

“The enemy is continuing attempts to advance with the aim of setting up a so-called ‘buffer zone,'” he wrote.

Ukrainian forces are said to be “keeping the situation under control, inflicting precise fire damage on the enemy”.

Hryhorov added that their residents had long been evacuated as fighting continues around other villages in the area, including Volodymyrivka and Bilovodiv.

The two settlements that Russia’s Defence Ministry had earlier on Monday said were now held by mad Vlad’s forces.

Russian reports had said that Moscow’s troops had taken control of villages in the region.

Sumy region is opposite Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a gargantuan cross-border incursion last August.

Moscow says Ukrainian troops have been ousted from Kursk, but Kyiv argues its forces are still active there.

Soon, Britain’s state-of-the-art Storm Shadow missiles could be used by Ukraine to blitz targets deep inside Russia, the German chancellor indicated.

Ukraine’s key backers – including Germany, France, the UK and the US – have lifted restrictions on where the weapons they donate can be used, Germany’s Merz said.

He said last Monday: “There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine – neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans.

“This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia… With very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until recently. It can now do that.”

In November last year, the US authorised Ukraine to use American long-range missiles called ATACMS against targets inside Russia.

In the same month, Britain gave the green light for Ukraine to fire our Storm Shadow missiles at Russia.

Trump brands Putin ‘crazy’

By Annabel Bate, Foreign News Reporter

PRESIDENT Donald Trump broke his silence on Sunday after Russia fired 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities in the largest aerial attack of the war – branding Vladimir Putin “CRAZY”.

“I’m not happy with Putin,” Trump fumed as he spoke to reporters in Morristown, New Jersey earlier on Sunday following the overnight onslaught that killed at least 13 and injured dozens.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him. What the hell happened to him? Right? He’s killing a lot of people. I’m not happy about that,” he said.

Trump added that he’s known the Russian tyrant for “a long time” and the two have “always gotten along,” but “he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, I don’t like it at all”.

And later in a post on his Truth Social site, the Republican leader continued to bash the mad Vlad.

He wrote: “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him.

“He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers.

“Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.”

In the rare rebuke to Putin, the Republican also said that Putin’s demands for Ukrainian territory will lead to Russia’s demise.

He added: “I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”

But the Kremlin on Monday subtly slammed Trump’s “crazy” comments, claiming his swipes at the dictator were channelled by the US President’s emotional overload.

It also thanked the US leader for his assistance in launching Ukraine peace negotiations.

Putin puppet and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We are really grateful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organising and launching this negotiation process.

“Of course, at the same time, this is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of everyone absolutely and with emotional reactions.”