Russian President Vladimir Putin has not given up his maximalist goal of dominating Ukraine. This is evidenced by classified reports of American intelligence, informs The Washington Post.
One of the classified reports, prepared for the Trump administration on March 6, shows that Putin is still determined to maintain control over Kiev, the source said. Some interlocutors noted that even if Putin agrees to a temporary truce, he is likely to use it to rest and rearm the army, after which he may provoke a violation of the agreement by blaming it on Ukraine.
At the same time, other officials expressed more cautious assessments about possible peace terms that Russia could agree to. They acknowledged that there are no signs that Putin is softening his stance on Ukraine’s integration into Russia’s security and economic orbit. According to one of the sources, Putin still has an old desire for the USSR.
It is not known whether Donald Trump was personally briefed on the report, but it is exactly the type of analysis traditionally shared with the president. Some assessments of Putin’s intransigence have angered Trump, who is eager to make a deal.
A representative of European intelligence, referring to data collected over the past month, noted that in Moscow, Trump is perceived as weak, someone who does not have firm principles and can be manipulated. If a lasting ceasefire is reached, he said, Russia will likely return to using hybrid or non-military methods to undermine Ukraine, as it did after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and during a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Among such methods are economic and diplomatic pressure, penetration into Ukrainian elites, business circles, security structures and the army, as well as influence through the Russian church in Ukraine. The official added that the 2022 invasion was the result of the failure of hybrid influence tools.
