Putin’s War Escalates Without End in Sight | US News

Putin’s grip tightens as he doubles down on war, refusing to back down despite mounting losses and Ukraine’s drone strikes deep inside Russia. Comparing global conflict to the food chain, he warns Ukraine’s invasion opened a “Pandora’s box” with devastating economic blowback—and insists the “special military operation continues,” moving only forward. Behind closed doors, he reportedly told allies he’d be executed if he surrendered Donbas. Meanwhile, NATO braces for escalation: CIA chief Ratcliffe secretly met Putin, Finland seeks Swedish help at its Russian border, Germany holds Moscow accountable for a Leipzig drone strike, and Romania shot down a naval drone near an oil platform. Intelligence fears Russia will ramp up sabotage against EU arms factories, but no direct NATO war is expected. Russia’s Defense Ministry vows a major energy infrastructure strike, while Putin may deploy 300,000–400,000 more troops via regional governments—no national mobilization needed. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/f1443ad722faf2dc