Putin believes he can fully occupy 4 Ukrainian regions by year-end

Bloomberg reported the information, citing a source close to Putin’s inner circle.

Meanwhile, European leaders are trying to stop the U.S. president from rushing into a deal.

Putin is convinced his forces can break through Ukraine’s defenses and fully occupy the four regions Russia has claimed in its constitution — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — by the end of the year.

Given this, journalists say Putin is unlikely to offer any serious concessions to Trump during the call, while European officials worry Trump might push for a deal anyway.

Despite ongoing talk of a possible ceasefire, sources close to the Kremlin say Putin is ready for a long war if that’s what it takes to reach his goals. He’s also not concerned about new U.S. sanctions. But this confidence isn't shared in the West. European officials believe that after three years of heavy fighting and massive losses, Russia no longer has the resources to pull off Putin’s plans.

According to Ben Barry, a senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the chances of Russia fully capturing the four regions by year’s end are very slim.

“The probability of Russia achieving its objectives of conquering those four regions by the end of this year is very low. If Ukrainian defense collapses, then it would be very easy to gain such an advantage, but at the moment such a scenario seems very unlikely,” Barry said.

Even within Russia, there’s doubt. A source close to the defense ministry said Ukrainian drones are making large-scale Russian offensives too costly and ineffective.

Meanwhile, in a May 16 call, the leaders of Germany, France, and the UK tried to persuade Trump that Putin was misleading him. They warned that forcing Ukraine into a bad deal would make Trump look weak.

According to European officials familiar with the talks, U.S. counterparts privately said Trump is considering letting a sanctions bill by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham move forward if Russia refuses to compromise — and he may tell Putin he won’t be able to stop it.

• On May 17, President Trump announced he would speak with Putin by phone on Monday, May 19, followed by a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.