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Torn between this reality and the growing hostility of the Trump administration, which is threatening Russia with new sanctions, Vladimir Putin potentially finds himself in a delicate position...
Is Vladimir Putin changing his strategy regarding the war in Ukraine? Intelligence services suspect that the Russian president wants to buy time.
Intelligence services are keeping an eye on Vladimir Putin and, according to their latest information, his objectives have changed in the context of the war in Ukraine. The Russian president's priority would no longer be to continue the fighting, but rather to consolidate his control over the territories already occupied by his army.
Until now, assessments by American and Western intelligence services indicated that Vladimir Putin believed he had the momentum and manpower to continue the war in Ukraine for a long time and eventually conquer the entire country.
His latest change is said to have been motivated in particular by the economic difficulties facing his country.
Torn between this reality and the growing hostility of the Trump administration, which is threatening Russia with new sanctions, Vladimir Putin potentially finds himself in a delicate position.
A generous proposal
The change in direction noted by intelligence services initially reinforced Donald Trump's belief that his Russian counterpart may now be more willing to consider signing a peace agreement with Kiev. Especially since the American proposal presented to Moscow is particularly generous, as it consists of ceding to Russia most of the territory it has occupied.
However, senior American officials close to the matter are much more skeptical, believing that Vladimir Putin could fully accept the proposed deal and then seek to resume the war to occupy more of Ukraine.
They particularly emphasize the Russian president's repeated references to the historical origins of his people, judging that the Kremlin leader could not abandon the idea of reoccupying at least those parts of Ukraine that he considers the "cradle of Russian civilization."
Thus, he could "play the game" of the United States by temporarily limiting his objectives in order to improve relations with Washington in the near future, yet without giving up on the invasion of Ukraine, identified by American intelligence as his "absolute priority", after the survival of the regime.
"Let's have Ukraine as weak as possible"
"Russia's goal is to gain recognition of as much territory as possible and have Ukraine as weak as possible," a senior US official said.
According to him, the Russian president is dragging his feet to spare the Trump administration, but also because he is aware that his forces have not been able to significantly shift the front lines for a long time.
Donald Trump has said the United States is ready to recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted this week that Moscow wants international recognition of the five Ukrainian territories that Russia holds, in whole or in part. Kiev has already indicated it will reject such agreements.
According to CNN, American politicians and intelligence services now doubt Russia's good faith. Vladimir Putin is suspected of trying to buy time and prolong negotiations to continue his military campaign instead of ending the war.
Donald Trump himself expressed doubts on his social network Truth, where he wrote about the Russian president: "Maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just dealing with me and should be treated differently, through banking sanctions or secondary sanctions?"
For its part, Moscow says it understands that Washington "wants to achieve quick success in this process," but insists that "the solution to the Ukrainian crisis is too complex to be achieved overnight." "There are still many details to be resolved" before a solution to the conflict can be reached, according to Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin's spokesman. / Adapted from Pamphlet by Cnews/
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