Putin has enough resources for another two years of war - Ukrainian intelligence

Putin has enough resources to continue the war for another two years — Ukrainian intelligence

Although Russia has weakened economically during the war against Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has enough resources to continue hostilities in 2027 and 2028, said Oleh Ivashchenko, head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

"It is necessary to work together with partners so that Russia does not have these resources left. Sanctions must work in practice," he said.

At the same time, according to him, more than 60 percent of Russians are already against the war.

"Protest will grow. This is a consequence of the economic situation and the enemy's heavy losses," the GUR head commented. He also noted that the model of replenishing the army by recruiting contract soldiers has not justified itself, as regional budgets cannot continue to finance payments to volunteers.

"At the same time, the losses of Russian troops are increasing. Russia's average daily losses range from 1,200 to 1,400, and sometimes up to 1,500 people. We are talking about the dead and seriously wounded," Ivashchenko said.

In June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent an open letter to Putin, stating that there was intelligence about Moscow's intention to drag out the war for another two years. He noted that Russians, facing attacks by Ukrainian drones and missiles, gasoline shortages, rising prices, and constant bans, are increasingly dissatisfied with the military conflict.

"They do not like that there is no end in sight to your war," Zelenskyy emphasized, calling on the Russian president to stop the war. Later, the Ukrainian president said that Putin wanted to send another "300,000 to 500,000 people" to the front as part of mobilization, because the Russian Ministry of Defense could not recruit a sufficient number of contract soldiers.

On September 5, Trump's special envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner went to Moscow to hold talks with Putin. The next day, they visited Kyiv and met with Zelenskyy. According to sources, Trump's envoys did not bring new ideas and only tried to revive previous proposals.

The publication's interlocutors noted that Putin still demands full control over Donbas and is ready to end the war only on his own terms. At the same time, he believes that the Russian army will capture the remaining 20 percent of the Donetsk region by the end of the year. In turn, Zelenskyy, as before, rules out ceding territories to Russia and considers the Donbas issue to be of decisive importance for the entire war.