Russian President Vladimir Putin likely has little interest in ending the Ukraine war and remains determined to dominate his western neighbor, it was reported.
Classified U.S. intelligence reports as recently as earlier this month said Putin continues to focus on his maximalist goal of bringing Ukraine into Russia's security and economic orbit despite President Donald Trump's attempts to end the war through negotiations, The Washington Post reported.
"He has a long-standing desire to restore 'Mother Russia,'" one official said, the outlet reported.
Intel reports show how difficult it will be for President Donald Trump and his national security team to secure peace in Ukraine.
The Kremlin said Friday that Putin had sent Trump a message about his proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine via Trump's special envoy and that there were grounds for "cautious optimism."
Putin said Thursday that he agreed in principle with a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but the terms needed to be worked out, and he emphasized that it should pave the way to lasting peace.
Some current and former U.S. officials, however, said Putin would use a temporary truce to reenergize his forces and then resume fighting by blaming Ukraine for a Moscow-initiated provocation.
"I don't believe a ceasefire or even a truce or a treaty will be an end to the story," Eugene Rumer, Russia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, the Post reported. "This is the new permanent standoff between Russia and the rest of Europe."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday night warned that Putin will drag out a deal for a ceasefire because he is not interested in peace, The New York Times reported.
Zelenskyy added that Putin has demanded so many preconditions that "nothing will work out at all or that it will not work out for as long as possible."
On Thursday, the Post reported a Russian think tank suggested Moscow should play hardball in negotiations concerning its war in Ukraine and Trump's plans for a relatively quick peace deal as "impossible to realize."
While talk of a ceasefire continued, Russian troops appeared to be making significant progress in ousting Ukraine from some Kursk province territory that Kyiv planned to use as a territorial bargaining chip.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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