Russian President Vladimir Putin still plans to capture almost the whole of Ukraine, said Avril Hines, a senior US intelligence official. However, after more than four months of war, Russian troops are so exhausted that the Kremlin will only make “small regional gains” in the short term. Due to some fatigue, the Russians left the now-well-known Snake Island in the Black Sea on Thursday.

U.S. intelligence has determined that the war will continue “for a long time.” “It was a tough and sad opportunity,” Haynes said. “Putin’s will not agree with what the military can do.”

At the last G7 summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an end to the war by the end of the year. Earlier, Ukrainian negotiators said they wanted to resume peace talks by the end of August.

Military experts told the NU.nl that during those talks a decision would probably be made about the possible continuation of the war. They even look for ways to end the war.

The distribution of weapons from the West does not make a difference

Heinz’s statements indicate that the supply of arms to the West is not sufficient to determine a war in Ukraine’s favor. For example, US intelligence services take into account the second, most unlikely scenario. In this, the Russian offensive was a huge success in a short period of time.

The third scene was based on the Ukrainian conquests, i.e. a stalemate was felt in the eastern front line in Kharkiv and southern Kersan.

The Kremlin corrected military targets during the war in Ukraine. For example, Putin said at the beginning of the invasion that he wanted to “militarize” and “reduce” Ukraine. By the end of March, he considered the first phase of the invasion to be over, but it was unclear what military purpose Putin had achieved. Since then, the Russian military has focused on capturing eastern Ukraine.

The Americans suspect that it will definitely take “many years” for Russia to bring the military back to fighting power. “At that time, the Kremlin’s cyber-attacks, energy exports and status as a nuclear power would depend,” Hines concluded.

The Russians leave Snake Island

Russia withdrew from Snake Island on Thursday, probably due to the exhaustion of its troops. The island in the western Black Sea is strategically located, allowing ships stationed there to block access to Ukrainian ports.

Ukraine has confirmed that the Russians have left the island. The Russians say the deviation is a sign of “good will” on the part of the United Nations. They had called for grain ships to leave Ukrainian ports.

Snake Island was known at the beginning of the war, when the Ukrainian army on the island refused to surrender to the Russian warship. Russia then occupied the island.

It was initially reported that Ukrainian soldiers had been killed on the island and they were given a posthumous award. It was later revealed that they were alive.