A new report from the New York Times found that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be ready for a ceasefire in his war with Ukraine while the country can still declare victory.
Putin, still confident in his forces, said Russia's goals had not changed. In his annual year-end press conference last week, Putin warned that there would be no peace solution in Ukraine until Russia achieved its overarching goals of “denazification” and demilitarization of Ukraine.
Putin's message may be different now that he has reportedly signaled he is ready for a deal. Since September, Putin has signaled that he is open to a pause in fighting along the current lines, which is much shorter than his intention to dominate Ukraine, according to the Times, which cited two former senior Russian officials.
According to the United Nations, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed and 18,500 injured since the war began nearly two years ago.
According to American officials, Putin also reached out to a ceasefire in the fall of 2022 after becoming dissatisfied with the area captured by Russia.
“Mr. Putin's repeated interest in a ceasefire is an example of how opportunism and improvisation have defined his approach to the war behind closed doors,” the Times wrote.
The Times said it conducted dozens of interviews with Russians who have known Putin for years that shed light on his maneuvers to avoid risk and keep his options open in the war that has lasted longer than he had imagined.
Officials who spoke to the Times said Putin sees several reasons why now is a good time for a deal, particularly because the war appears to be at a stalemate, Ukraine's offensive has been disappointing, and the war between Israel and the United States has been disappointing Hamas started.
According to the Kremlin's analysis, public support for the war is broad but not deep, meaning most people would accept anything that Putin would consider a victory.
Some Western officials are skeptical that Putin would only rearm and rebuild during a ceasefire.
There is no guarantee that Ukraine's leadership would agree to a deal, although the country is struggling to finance its military due to delays in funding from both Europe and the United States.
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