Putin dreams of victory in the war against Ukraine

This is stated in the annual report "Global Threat Assessment - 2025", prepared by the US Office of Military Intelligence for the US Congress.

According to US intelligence, Putin almost certainly seeks victory in Ukraine, and his goals have remained largely unchanged since the beginning of the war:

• Ukraine's neutrality,

• further division of the Ukrainian state.

Intelligence reports indicate that, absent a negotiated settlement or, alternatively, strong Western assistance, the battlefield outlook will likely continue to slowly shift in Russia's favor through 2025, although, as the intelligence community has clarified, Russian battlefield gains are slowing and continue to come at the cost of heavy losses in personnel and equipment.

Since the beginning of the war, Russia has lost at least 10,000 ground combat vehicles, including over 3,000 tanks, as well as nearly 250 aircraft and helicopters and over 10 naval vessels. Russia suffered over 700,000 personnel losses during the war.

At the same time, intelligence reported that Russian troops are allegedly continuing to make small, gradual progress in capturing parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and regaining control of the Kursk region.

To this end, Russia deployed over 10,000 North Korean soldiers along the Kursk salient to support Russian offensive operations.

In addition, US intelligence explained that Russia continues to attack critical Ukrainian infrastructure using strike drones and long-range missiles.

While Russia confirms its openness to a negotiated settlement, it remains steadfast in its demands for post-conflict neutrality for Ukraine, control over the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, and the further division of the Ukrainian state. Russia is likely to continue its strategy.