Trump's victory clouds outlook for Putin — military expert

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"The signals coming from the U.S. are not as negative for Ukraine as anticipated. The candidates that President Trump is considering are, among other things, anti-Russian and adhere to the 'peace through strength' stance, meaning forcing Putin to end the war through power. We’ll look at the details, but this is not what Putin expected when he tried to occupy Donbas over the past year," Samus noted.

According to the military expert, Putin had hoped to achieve decisive success in Donbas, occupy the entire region, and then negotiate with the new U.S. president from a position of strength. Currently, the situation does not look as favorable for Putin, which is why he is pushing his forces forward despite suffering massive losses.

"They are throwing everything they have, all their resources, in an attempt to break through the front lines in a short timeframe. The Russians are trying to reach the borders of the Donetsk region to demonstrate to the world, and especially to the new U.S. administration, that supporting Ukraine is pointless, that Russia is winning, and that Ukraine should be forced to capitulate. This has been Putin's plan for a long time, and it hasn’t changed. Now, the fighting will become even more intense," Samus emphasized.

The military expert also added that Putin now needs to demonstrate success in Donbas as well as to liberate the Kursk region. Otherwise, it will be difficult to claim a strong negotiating position with Trump, especially if he has 500 square kilometers of Russian territory under occupation in the background.

• Donald Trump, the winner of the U.S. presidential election, is set to appoint a special representative to lead negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
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