The Kremlin is preparing for a 10-year war with Ukraine, which should end with the destruction of the attacked country, the Institute for study of warfare (ISW).
Analysts cite former President Dmitry Medvedev as saying (quoted in Russian media) that the Ukrainian state will no longer exist by 2034, possibly to support the Kremlin's efforts to prepare the Russian public for a long war in Ukraine, while promising , that Russia will fulfill its goal of destroying Ukrainian statehood within a decade.
In fact, Medvedev did not say this directly, but such a conclusion can be drawn from his statements that the country 404 (as he humiliatingly calls Ukraine) will never join NATO, especially by 2034, as calls are heard.
Russian news outlets, including the Kremlin news channel TASS, immediately began publishing stories with headlines like “Medvedev Admits Ukraine Will No Longer Exist in 2034”
There is an important takeaway from the way the Russian media is currently reporting Medvedev's statements. This is the explicit suggestion that Russia will be able to “destroy Ukraine” by 2034, is a promise to the Russian public that Russia will be able to win the war and achieve its goal of destroying Ukrainian statehood within a decade.
This Russian narrative also directly and powerfully undermines individual attempts by select Kremlin officials to suggest that Russia is willing to “negotiate” for “peace” with Ukraine and further emphasizes that the only end state of the war desired by the Kremlin is the complete destruction of the Ukrainian state and people.
Ukraine and the West cannot be expected to negotiate on Russia's terms if Russia's terms are based on the eradication of Ukraine and its people over the next ten years.