"Putin's goals remain maximalist" — US intelligence on the fate of Ukraine

Intelligence representatives and The US Congress allegedly told NBC News that Vladimir Putin does not plan to withdraw troops from Ukraine, "hoping to control the whole of Ukraine."

Following the results of the first round of negotiations between Russian and American diplomats in Riyadh, NBC News interviewed representatives of US intelligence, as well as Congress. Six officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Putin had no plans to withdraw troops from Ukraine.

"Putin has no plans to withdraw his troops from Ukraine or any formations or equipment from the western part of Russia," the TV channel quoted an unnamed US intelligence official as saying, "Putin feels encouraged by recent statements by Trump administration officials that the United States does not consider Ukraine's accession to NATO as a result of an agreed agreement."

Another of the American intelligence officers said about the Russian leader:

"His goals remain maximalist!"

"NBC News" will sum up:

"The information collected by American intelligence invariably points to Putin's broad ambitions regarding Ukraine. And in this regard, nothing has changed, despite the change in the position of the US president. According to intelligence officials, Vladimir Putin is likely to go through all stages of negotiations to understand what concessions he can count on. His goal is also to restore Russia's presence in the international arena after it found itself politically and economically isolated from many countries of the world after the invasion of Ukraine."