PUBLISHED on August 6, 2025, 19:38 EST – Key Points and Summary – With President Trump’s August 8 ceasefire deadline looming, Russia is reportedly floating an “air truce” that would pause long-range missile and drone strikes.
However, the author argues this proposal is a “huge scam” and a calculated maneuver designed to heavily favor Moscow.
An air truce would neutralize Ukraine’s most effective long-range strike capabilities—which it uses to hit Russian fuel depots and supply lines—while allowing Russia’s grinding ground offensive to continue unabated.
The proposal is seen not as a genuine step toward peace, but as a strategic ploy to buy Russia time and breathing room.
Russia’s “Air Truce” Idea On Ukraine Is One Huge Scam
Just two days before U.S. President Donald Trump’s August 8 deadline for a peace deal, the Kremlin is reportedly weighing a limited concession: a pause in long-range drone and missile strikes on Ukraine.
The proposed “air truce,” reportedly floated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and under consideration by Vladimir Putin, would not halt Russia’s war effort entirely, but reframe it in a way that is primarily advantageous to his military.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Russian officials are still considering options ahead of a planned visit to Moscow by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff this week.
Russian and American officials are expected to discuss a number of options, Trump’s deadline, and Lukashenko’s “air truce” suggestion – the latter of which would only be implemented if Kyiv agrees to participate.
Russian political analyst Sergei Markov reportedly described the proposal as a “gift” and “concession” from the Kremlin to President Trump, which might ward off potential new sanctions.
“Trump needs some kind of a ‘gift,’ a concession from Russia,” Markov said. “An air truce could be such a gift.”
But would such a proposal satisfy the U.S. president? And would Ukraine agree?
Given the low chances of a full ceasefire agreement following the implementation of a partial truce – and the fact that the deal would heavily favor Russia – it’s hard to envision Kyiv getting on board.
An Air Truce Only Benefits Russia
The offer is interesting. The Kremlin has repeatedly stated – even since Trump took office and encouraged concessions from the Ukrainian side – that it will not end the war until it achieves its stated goals in Ukraine.
Russia refuses to back down on its territorial claims and now finds itself in a position of strength, as Ukraine’s air defenses struggle to defend against intensifying Russian missile and drone strikes. Russia’s summer offensive is also grinding forward with slow but consistent gains, and there is little incentive at this stage for Putin to give ground – besides the prospect of new sanctions.
But even with the upper hand on the battlefield, Moscow is under pressure. Trump’s August 8 deadline for a peace deal has Moscow on the back foot, and with the threat of sweeping new U.S. sanctions looming—including secondary sanctions on foreign buyers of Russian oil—Russia’s already weakened economy could be pushed further toward crisis. With a recession looming, the prospect of further economic isolation, and a risk of domestic unease, Putin needs to make a decision fast.
I have recently argued that Russia’s intensified strikes may be part of a strategy to build leverage ahead of talks, and agreeing to an air truce could allow Putin to appear flexible while strategically reverting to a ground war at a time when Ukrainian forces are beginning to gain parity in drone warfare.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent pledge to reach a goal of manufacturing 1,000 interceptor drones per day, if it comes to fruition, could soon challenge the effectiveness of Russia’s Shahed drone attacks. An air truce now would give Russia breathing room, halt Ukrainian retaliation strikes on fuel depots, airfields, and supply lines, and reduce the risk to valuable infrastructure, including the kind of aircraft losses caused by Ukraine’s covert Operation Spider’s Web.
For Ukraine, the opposite is true. Kyiv’s most effective tools against Russia’s superior ground forces are its drone strikes and long-range aerial attacks. Accepting an air truce would mean giving up that advantage.
Whether Trump accepts the deal remains to be seen. But if he doesn’t, the rationale will be obvious: this is not a balanced or fair step towards peace, but a calculated maneuver to buy Russia time. That sounds like a scam to me. Ukraine should tred carefully.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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Swamplaw Yankee
August 7, 2025 at 12:13 am
Great Synopsis. Concise packaging of vital points of data essential to the survival of independent Ukraine, decorate this op-ed in skillful fashion..
So, what is the point of skillful evasion? What is the author being “social” about?
The point is that the weakest link is the USA and the position of POTUS. Since this fella hangs out in NYC, the Yankee empire has to be respected. The author is too British, too polite to the USA.
The re-start of the 1000 year old genocide of Ukrainians dates to 2013-14 when the POTUS Obama’s Democrat Cabal unilaterally greenlighted the loss of the WEST’s geopolitical advantage of the Ukraine’s Crimean Soil, families and Black/Azov Sea zones to the prime vile cold war enemy of the WEST, tsarling Putin.
Obama was covert, secretive as he assisted his marxist blood brothers in reversing decades of the WEST’s military strategy to hem in the bloody Stalinist successor entity: the Ruskie run Federation. Who in the USA explained in 2014 the consequences to the WEST, let alone to the average Doodle Dandy?
Now, another POTUS, the MAGA Trump, has self appointed himself to the chief position of a democracy destroyer and land thief facilitator.
The author seriously errs as the orc rukie word manipulation is termed a “deal”. The tsarling Putin has his orc minions crank out a few words to confuse the Yankee lexicographers with the glib disguise of a “deal”.
The reality is other than that. The author well describes the motives that fuel the genocide desiring Russian elite. So, we agree there is no “deal” only another muscovite scam package of cons.
Ukraine has traded huge numbers of soldiers lives for the time to evolve drone tech that fights back the huge Han CCP Zi regime covert funded drone/missile production.
The reality of the Obama greenlighting of the Putin military “little green groomers” mass abduction of little children is also avoided any mention. Why is that?
Fundamentally, the peasant russian ancient genetic need to “harvest” Little Ukrainian children over the last 1000 years is a disgusting ruskie ethnic fact. Stop hiding Putin’s mass abduction/ human trafficking, redocumentation of little “Lolita” packages to be air-shipped to Muscovites very, very needy russian language teachers and table top dance instructors.
This is what makes Putin so well adored, even loved in 2025 as Putin has delivered 11 years of free, no-cost kiddies to ruskies supporters, a give=away gift from POTUS Obama. In 2014 POTUS Obama may not have noticed his moral turpitude as he the “shoulder rubbing” of the elite with their equal, Jeffrey Epstein, was in full swing.
No way, should MAGA POTUS have a chance to negotiate this latest Putin word scam. Trump refuses to demand Putin pre-pay $10,000,000 in US gold bullion to each and every mass abducted Ukrainian as compensation and reparation immediately. Now. ASAP. Trump needs to clean up the moral turpitude that Obama allowed as he re-started the orc ruskies centuries old need to “Harvest” Ukrainian children. Will Trump demand the pre-payment of compensation for the Ukrainian child victims asap? Or will Trump try to imitate Obama’s moral failure with more Obama style free, no-cost sex trade child abuse?
Forget any PR fake code words Trump likes to emit: “Peace” or “Cease fire” until Putin pre-pays + delivers $10,000,000 per child for the first 25,000 abducted Ukrainian children. After that is received, deposited, the fake con talk about “peace” “Cease Fire” Yankee talk style can be re-marketed again. Is Trump able to be very serious now, immediately about making Putin respect him?
Then forget “AIR TRUCE” word garbage and talk about 11 filthy years of ongoing Ukrainian “Child Abduction TRUCE: NOW! -30-