Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin remains determined to achieve victory in the war against Ukraine, a US intelligence assessment has said.

Source : 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment, prepared by US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for Congress, dated 11 May 2025

Details : The assessment states that Moscow is pursuing a strategy of attrition, aiming to undermine Ukraine’s resistance, demoralise its population and await a decline in Western support. Despite slow progress, Russia’s military command likely considers this acceptable.

Quote : "Putin almost certainly is committed to victory in Ukraine and his objectives remain mostly unchanged since the beginning of the war: Ukrainian neutrality and a further partition of the Ukrainian state. In the absence of a negotiated settlement or, alternatively, robust Western aid, the battlefield outlook probably will continue to slowly trend in Russia’s favour through 2025, though Russian battlefield gains are slowing and continue to come at the expense of high personnel and equipment losses."

Details : Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost over 700,000 soldiers, including at least 170,000 fatalities, and more than 10,000 pieces of military equipment, including 3,000 tanks, according to US intelligence. Approximately 250 aircraft and helicopters have also been destroyed.

Russian forces continue their gradual advance in Ukraine’s east, bolstered by additional troops, including over 10,000 North Korean soldiers deployed in Kursk Oblast to support the offensive.

Russia is also heavily using kamikaze drones and long-range missiles to target Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, aiming to break its will to resist.

The assessment notes that Putin remains committed to imposing post-war neutrality on Ukraine, limiting its military capabilities and further fragmenting the state.

Quote : "Although Putin and his military leaders probably would prefer more rapid battlefield gains, Moscow seems comfortable with the current cost of its slow advances, calculating they can steadily drain Ukraine’s resources and will, and outlast the West’s support for Ukraine."

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