Putin still wants to take over all of Ukraine – media
20 December 08:37
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin still intends to seize all of Ukraine and return parts of the former Soviet Union to Europe, despite the desire of Russian negotiators to end the war.
This is reported by [ komersant] with reference to Reuters.
According to the agency, six sources told about this assessment of the US intelligence. According to one of them, the latest assessment is dated the end of September.
Thus, the US conclusions have remained unchanged since Putin launched a full-scale invasion in 2022. According to the sources, the estimates largely coincide with the view of European leaders and intelligence agencies that the Russian dictator is seeking to take over all of Ukraine and the territories of the former Soviet Union, including NATO allies.
“Intelligence has always indicated that Putin wants more. Europeans are convinced of this. The Poles are absolutely convinced of this. The Baltic states believe they are the first,” said Mike Quigley, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee.
Russia is preparing for war with NATO
In September 2025, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said that the threats posed by Russia concern not only Ukraine but the entire Western world.
According to him, Moscow is shifting its economy to a military orientation, expanding arms production, and increasingly mobilizing people to fight the current war. Thus, by 2030, Russia wants to be ready for a large-scale clash with NATO.
According to ISW analysts, Russia is stepping up its covert attacks against Europe and has already entered the “zero phase” of preparations for a possible war with NATO.
In particular, on December 17, there was the first case when Russian military personnel in uniform crossed the territory of a NATO country. It was an incident in Estonia, where a violation of the line of control on the Narva River near the Vasknarva pier was recorded.
A day earlier, Mike Utley, Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy of Great Britain, who heads NATO’s Joint Maritime Command, said that the Alliance’s armed forces still lack the resilience to fight a long war. He emphasized that the military needs to prepare for a more complex battlefield, ranging from cyber threats to military to military.
