Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a long war in Ukraine, to the point where even a possible victory in the separatist east of the country will not end the conflict, warned US intelligence.

The warning comes at a time when eastern Ukraine is in a state of fire, with Russia trying to seize the territory. Moscow has redirected its troops’ focus to capturing the Donbass region after Ukraine resisted attempts to seize its capital Kyiv. Nevertheless, its forces remain at a dead end, according to US intelligence.

In a hearing, held this Tuesday, before a committee in the US Senate, the head of US intelligence, Avril Haines, said that Putin maintains the intention “to achieve goals beyond the Donbass”, but only that “if faces a mismatch between its ambitions and Russia’s current conventional military capabilities”.

According to the BBC, Avril Haines also said that the Russian president was “probably” counting on a decrease in US and European Union support for Ukraine as inflation, food shortages, and energy prices worsen.

Source: With agencies