Ukrainian military analyst Vasyl Pekhno shared his opinions with Espreso TV.“Right now, the escalation is intensifying. If we look at the options Trump has, the decisive moment won’t be August 8, but August 9 — the day after. Trump basically has two paths. The first is to do nothing, to just pour cold water on it, meaning Russia won’t stop the war, and China and India will continue buying Russian oil. That would mean a complete geopolitical collapse for the U.S.The second path is to ramp up escalation, strengthen Ukraine, and provide us with weapons so we can achieve what’s called a just and sustainable peace,” Pekhno noted.According to the analyst, there are signs we are moving toward the second scenario of escalation: Russia’s political announcement to withdraw from the moratorium on deploying intermediate- and short-range missiles; Trump’s statement about moving naval vessels; the U.S. Treasury Secretary’s announcement that China does not intend to stop buying Russian energy — meaning they will pay 100% tariffs — which also signals escalation.“The world is currently moving down a path of escalation. In this context, there’s even an element that encourages me as a Ukrainian — that the U.S. and NATO are launching a new mechanism to support Ukraine. We submit a request to NATO, the NATO Commander in Europe approves the list, and then weapons are shipped from the U.S. to European countries, and from there to us. Ukraine will receive advanced weaponry transiting through Alliance member states in Europe from the U.S. Everyone is preparing for this as part of a larger escalation toward a more global, large-scale conflict,” Pekhno explained.The military analyst also added that the U.S. and Europe no longer have the luxury of showing weakness, and they understand that if they remain weak, even more countries in the Global South — those wanting to reshape the world by military means — will gain the tools to do so.“If Trump chooses the path of a weakling, that will be a direct road sign that we are moving even closer to World War III, to a global conflict, rather than if he chooses the path of a warrior,” Pekhno concluded.