Journalist Vitaly Portnikov shared his opinions on Espreso TV.“I think the pressure will increase — through sanctions and possibly new decisions on weapons. What will he do? He’s made a decision now. He’ll wait two or three weeks to see how Putin reacts, expecting a constructive response. But Putin won’t respond constructively; he’ll say, ‘We’ll launch two more missiles.’ Then Trump will impose new sanctions,” Portnikov said.According to him, the key figure in the coming days will be U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.“By the way, I have the impression he’s been waiting for this moment. He’s in the right mood, and now he’s been given the green light. He already has everything on the table to act. There will be new sanctions. Putin will respond again — ‘Oh yes, Russians never surrender,’” the journalist noted.Portnikov reminded that Putin once said a “sovereign state cannot make decisions under pressure.”“We could say the same to Putin — we’re just living our lives. Dmitriev is already saying he’s handing out Putin’s quotes on chocolate candies. So, here’s one for us too — a candy that says a sovereign state cannot make decisions under pressure. So stop the pressure. This will go on, and they’ll keep moving further down the road toward escalation. The question is whether it will trigger a war between Russia and the West,” Portnikov concluded.