Russian Intelligence Chief Declares Moscow Close to Achieving Military Goals

The head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin claimed that Moscow is close to achieving all of the objectives of its so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine.”

He echoed the recent words of Putin by claiming that the war in Ukraine was now a struggle for the “freedom and sovereignty” of Russia with the forces of the “collective West” that was trying to impose a “a protracted struggle of attrition” that would divide the nation, according to an interview with his in-house magazine Razvedchik.

Naryshkin said: “The situation at the front is not in Kyiv’s favor. The strategic initiative in all areas belongs to us, we are close to achieving our set goals, while the Ukrainian armed forces are on the verge of collapse and the Zelensky regime has lost its legitimacy, along with the ability to make agreements.”

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In contrast, Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov said on Nov. 19 that there were no “set goals for the SVO – they will be exactly what Putin considers necessary to declare his victory at the moment when he decides to stop the war.”

He said the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, intended to be a short, sharp operation to “demilitarize and denazify” Ukraine, had grown into a war “between Russia and NATO.” He would not say how long it would go on for, but said, “that it will end as soon as we achieve our goals.”

On Dec. 8, Russia said it was ready to enter negotiations if Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky canceled his decree banning negotiations with Putin and resumed a dialogue “based on the [2022] Istanbul agreements and taking into account the realities developing on the ground.”

After Putin had previously insisted that pre-conditions for peace included the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions along with recognition that they and Crimea should remain Russian, and Kyiv should renounce its intention to join NATO. In response, Ukraine said it considered this an unacceptable ultimatum and no basis for peace talks.

However, having previously insisted that nothing short of a return to its 1991 borders, Kyiv indicated that it was now prepared to give up the occupied areas of the four regions in return for NATO membership under the so-called “German scenario,” with future diplomacy to decide the final disposition of the disputed regions as a basis for peace talks.  

Following Donald Trump’s election as US president, Kremlin sources told Reuters that Putin was open to discussing a Ukraine ceasefire but ruled out any major territorial concessions and insisted that Kyiv should abandon its ambition to join NATO.

Trump called for an immediate cease-fire and talks between Ukraine and Russia to begin immediately via his “Truth Social’ platform on Sunday.

He said “Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. I know Vladimir [Putin] well. Now is his time to act. China can help. The world is waiting!” Trump wrote, addressing Putin.

Zelensky responded by saying on “X” that Ukraine needs guarantees:

“When we talk about effective peace with Russia, we must, first of all, talk about effective guarantees of peace. Ukrainians want peace more than anyone else.”