NBC: Putin Not Really Interested In Real Peace Deal

• 19.02.2025, 3:19

US intelligence data.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has begun preliminary talks with Russian Federation to end the war in Ukraine, but according to US intelligence, dictator Vladimir Putin is still keen to control the entire territory of Ukraine.

NBС News reported that on Tuesday, 18 February.

‘We have no information to suggest that Putin is interested in a real peace agreement,’ a US congressional official said.

The six officials said intelligence indicates that Putin continues to believe he can ‘wait out Ukraine and Europe’ and eventually take control of all of Ukraine.

‘He thinks he is winning,’ one Western intelligence official said, adding that Russia's losses on the battlefield are not forcing Putin to stop the fighting.

Six officials told NBC News that Putin might still agree to a ceasefire and a broader peace deal because it would give his army time to regroup and rebuild.

According to intelligence reports, Putin has no plans to reduce his military presence in Ukraine or withdraw units or hardware from Russia's western regions. The six officials also noted that Putin is feeling more confident because of recent statements by Trump administration officials that make it clear that the U.S. does not see Ukraine joining NATO as a realistic outcome of the negotiation process.

However, U.S. officials say U.S. intelligence and information it receives from other countries have long indicated that Putin maintains broad ambitions for Ukraine. At the same time, U.S. officials also believe that the Ukrainian government is concerned that it may be excluded from the negotiation process.