Putin aims to seize all of Ukraine and former Soviet republics – US intelligence

Reports from US intelligence agencies continue to warn that Russian leader Vladimir Putin intends to take over all of Ukraine and reclaim parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet Union.

Source: Reuters, citing six sources, as reported by European Pravda

Details: These reports present a picture that differs sharply from the one drawn by US President Donald Trump and his peace negotiators for Ukraine, who claim that Putin is seeking to end the conflict. One source noted that the most recent of these reports dates back to the end of September.

This intelligence also runs contrary to Putin's claims that he is not a threat to Europe.

The US conclusions have remained unchanged since the start of Putin's full-scale invasion in 2022. The sources say these assessments largely align with the view of European leaders and intelligence agencies that Putin is aiming to take control of all of Ukraine and the territories of former Soviet republics, including those that are NATO members.

"The intelligence has always been that Putin wants more," said Mike Quigley, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, in an interview with Reuters. "The Europeans are convinced of it. The Poles are absolutely convinced of it. The Baltics think they're first," he added.

A White House representative stated that "the president's [Trump - ed.] team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the war", and Trump said a peace deal is "closer than ever before", without commenting on the intelligence.

Background:

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the US has "made progress" in negotiations on Ukraine but warned that there is still a lot of work to be done.
• Politico reported earlier that Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev will visit Miami on 20-21 December for talks with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner regarding the US "peace plan".
• Rustem Umierov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, announced that he and Andrii Hnatov, Chief of Ukraine's General Staff, were beginning another round of consultations with the US side on 19 December.

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