Putin ist nach wie vor zuversichtlich, dass der ultimative Sieg in der Ukraine: Bericht

Russian President Vladimir Putin “remains confident” he will secure an “ultimate victory” in Ukraine despite Moscow’s participation in ongoing peace negotiations, according to a newly released report from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

Prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives, the assessment says Putin views the war as an “existential struggle against the West” and an effort to restore the prestige and global influence that he believes Russia lost when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

The report, based on intelligence available as of May 11, 2025, states that despite Moscow engaging in U.S.-brokered peace talks, “Putin almost certainly is committed to victory in Ukraine,” and that his strategic goals have remained “mostly unchanged” since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

This aligns with concerns in Kyiv that Russia may be using the peace process to buy time and seize more Ukrainian territory, aiming to impose its preferred terms in any future negotiated settlement.

The report outlines Putin’s main demands as a permanent ban on Ukraine joining NATO and the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian military forces from the eastern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.

It adds that Russia has also intensified its efforts to destabilize Europe, aiming “to undermine Western cohesion and support to Ukraine.”

The DIA says that Putin is prepared to pursue “a strategy of attrition through at least the end of the year,” believing that Russia can outlast both Ukraine’s resources and Western resolve.