U.S. intelligence assesses that Russian President Vladimir Putin is more determined than ever to continue the war in Ukraine, NBC News reported Wednesday, citing two senior U.S. and congressional officials.
Disclosed privately to lawmakers sometime in October, the analysis found no indication that Putin is prepared to compromise even as U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to broker peace talks.
The anonymous officials told the broadcaster that Putin is seen as “dug in” in his commitment to expand Russia’s control over Ukrainian territory despite heavy battlefield losses and deepening domestic economic strain.
A White House spokesperson, declining to comment directly on the assessment, said “permanent peace depends on Russia’s willingness to negotiate in good faith.”
They added that Trump hopes his recent decision to sanction Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil “will help bring about the end of the war.”
“He has been clear that it is time to stop the killing and make a deal to end the war,” the White House official was quoted as saying.
The Kremlin has dismissed the sanctions as political pressure. Russia has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The U.S. intelligence assessment and sanctions have cast uncertainty over the prospects of a previously announced Trump-Putin summit in Budapest, Hungary, which the U.S. leader shelved indefinitely.
Amid the heightened tensions, Russia’s sovereign wealth chief and a long-time intermediary in backchannel U.S.-Russian talks, Kirill Dmitriev, visited the United States over the weekend.
On Sunday, Dmitriev slammed “titanic attempts” to thwart dialogue with the United States.