The US intelligence doubts that Putin is ready to end the war against Ukraine. Secret reports indicate that he has not given up on his goal of taking control of Ukraine. However, it is not known whether these reports reached the US President Donald Trump.
The Washington Post (WP) writes about this.
One such report, given to the Trump administration on March 6, explicitly states that Putin still wants to establish control over Kyiv. It did not analyze whether Trump can achieve peace, but it emphasized the difficult task facing the US president and the White House, and raised the question of whether Washington correctly understands Putin’s willingness to seek peaceful solutions.
Putin reacted cautiously to the ceasefire proposal in public — he did not reject it outright, but hinted that Russia could put forward its own conditions.
Some American and European officials believe that even if Putin agrees to a ceasefire, he will use the time to prepare new attacks. Other analysts suggest that negotiations could yield results, but only if Ukraine receives security guarantees and is able to rebuild its forces.
American intelligence officials acknowledge that there is no sign that Putin has relented in his desire to draw Ukraine into Russiaʼs security and economic orbit.
“He has a long-standing desire to restore ʼMother Russia’,” one of them said.
The U.S. intelligence assessment of Putinʼs intransigence has irritated Trump, who and his aides have been talking in recent days about tough new sanctions against Russia if it refuses to end the war.
The issue of territories remains open. Ukraine wants to return all occupied lands, but many experts doubt that this is possible through diplomatic or forceful means. Russia, on the other hand, seeks full control over the occupied territories, as well as over Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
According to European intelligence officials, the Kremlin sees Trump as weak and open to manipulation and is trying to exploit this to its advantage. Even if the fighting stops, Russia will likely continue to undermine Ukraine economically, diplomatically, and through political influence.
“The 2022 invasion happened because hybrid tools did not produce results,” the European official emphasized.
Meanwhile, Russia has stepped up its use of hybrid technologies in Europe, including attempting to assassinate Armin Papperger, CEO of the German concern “Rheinmetal”, and interfering in elections in Moldova, Romania, and other countries.
- In February 2025, Tulsi Gabbard, who has consistently opposed support for Ukraine and repeatedly repeated Russian propaganda narratives, became the director of the US intelligence. This raised concerns about whether US national intelligence would continue to make reliable assessments of the situation surrounding the Russian-Ukrainian war.
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