US intelligence: Putin sees end of war as threat to his power

2025-11-19 23:42:44Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
US intelligence: Putin sees end of war as threat to his power
Vladimir Putin

Putin has ignored a well-known rule: Don't start a war you can't win.

According to US intelligence, the Kremlin is having difficulty explaining to the Russian public the huge losses and costs of the war in Ukraine. For this reason, it appears to be trying to prolong the conflict, as any peace negotiations pose a political risk to President Vladimir Putin.

Economist Anders Aslund notes that Russia no longer aims for complete victory; on the contrary, a long war brings it benefits. If the war ends, some two million veterans – including convicts and conscripts who were promised release – will return home and ask: “What did we fight for?”

The Kremlin does not have a convincing answer.

Historian Mark Galeotti adds that Putin is caught between fear and uncertainty, and the peace positions proposed by former US President Donald Trump only increase the pressure on him.

Putin has ignored a well-known rule: don’t start a war you can’t win. The Kremlin may try to declare victory by occupying a particular Ukrainian region, but that is not enough to achieve the stated goals of the so-called “special military operation” – denazification, demilitarization, and preventing Ukraine from joining NATO – which are simply unachievable, and the Kremlin knows it.


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