Russian President Vladimir Putin will not give up on his goals in the war in Ukraine, and there is no threat to his power inside Russia, the head of intelligence of one of the European countries told Reuters, quoted by Focus.
"It is very difficult for me to imagine that they will give up their goal of seizing the entire territory of Donbas… And Russia, in essence, is in no hurry“, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He does not expect a "major breakthrough“ in the near future, and Russian society has been described as stable.
"To believe that Russia's leadership is currently in some way disintegrating or that Putin is facing an internal challenge is to wish for the truth…“, the source points out.
The same article by the British agency quotes the opinion of the head of Estonian intelligence Kaupo Rozina, who believes that the pressure on Putin in Russia is increasing because its army is bogged down at the front, sanctions are intensifying and Moscow "has few good options left in Ukraine“.
"All these factors together create a situation in which some people in Russia, including at the highest levels, realize that they have a serious problem. It is difficult to determine what Putin thinks about this issue, but in my opinion all these factors are starting to influence his decisions“, Rozin said.
He called on Ukraine's allies to increase sanctions pressure on Moscow.
At the same time, the head of Estonian intelligence said that Russia will not give up its goal of subjugating Ukraine while Putin is in power, and will maintain significant military forces on the borders even after the conflict ends.
In addition, according to him, after the end of hostilities, Moscow will seek to expand its military presence on the borders with NATO and achieve “military dominance from the Arctic to the Black Sea“.