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

Despite Donald Trump wanting to restart peace talks after a “candid” call with Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian intelligence shows the tyrant has no intention of ending the war, Volodymyr Zelensky warned.

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Ukrainian firefighters and rescuers work at the site of a damaged storage facility of a private factory near Kharkiv[/caption]

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A training exercise for troops near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region[/caption]

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Firefighters extinguish a fire at damaged residential building after Russian air attack[/caption]

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Russian President Vladimir Putin talks during an awards ceremony at the Saint Yekeaterina’s Hall of the Kremlin[/caption]

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

He said at a joint press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo: “Wars typically end because of economic or military exhaustion on one side or on both sides and in this war we are obviously still far from reaching that [situation].

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

Merz disclosing his doubts on the war ending soon comes after reports emerged that mad Vlad is building a 50,000-strong force alongside the border of Kharkiv.

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.

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Zelensky presents awards to veterans of the National Service in the field of special communications and information protection, in Kyiv[/caption]

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A blaze in a private enterprise facility following a Russian strike in Kharkiv region[/caption]

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Broken windows and balconies at damaged residential building after Russian air attack[/caption]

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.

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US President Donald Trump points as he boards Air Force One prior to departure from Joint Base Andrews[/caption]

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A private enterprise that catches fire due to an overnight Russian attack lies in ruins in the Kharkiv region[/caption]

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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.