Putin not interested in genuine peace talks, US intel sources warn
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump pushing to work out some kind of deal with Moscow, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is still very much intent on seizing control over the entirety of Ukraine, NBC News reported on Feb. 18.
The journalists cited “four Western intelligence officials and two U.S. congressional officials” as their sources.
“We have zero intelligence that Putin is interested in a real peace deal right now,” one congressional source said.
The current U.S. intelligence assessment is that Putin still believes he can “wait out Ukraine and Europe” to eventually gain control over all of Ukraine. "He believes he is winning," said one Western intelligence official, adding that Russia's mounting battlefield losses have not deterred Putin from prosecuting the war.
The six officials told the journalists that Putin might agree to a ceasefire and a broader peace agreement only because it would give his military time to regroup and recover.
According to intelligence reports, Putin does not plan to reduce military presence in Ukraine or withdraw troops and equipment from Russia's western regions. The officials also noted that Putin feels more confident due to recent statements from members of the Trump administration suggesting that Ukraine's NATO membership is not seen as a “realistic outcome” of the negotiation process.
U.S. intelligence and information obtained from other countries have long indicated that Putin retains broad ambitions for Ukraine. Meanwhile, U.S. officials believe the Ukrainian government is concerned about being excluded from the negotiation process.
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