Washington considers option of Russia's collapse - Matthew Bryza

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

"I think that Putin's goals for this horrific invasion and aggressive war have changed. Now his main goal is probably to survive physically and politically, and these are two sides of the same coin, all thanks to the amazing courage and efficiency of the Ukrainian military and the national determination of the entire population of Ukraine. Putin received terrible advice from his intelligence services at the beginning of the war. He thought he could win a quick victory by capturing Kyiv and beheading the government, but he failed miserably. And now he's stuck in this war of attrition that he can't win, and if he can't win it, the end is near," Bryza said.

The diplomat emphasized that the US rhetoric has changed a lot since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Many analysts in Washington have begun to say and write that they are considering the possibility that the entire Russia will collapse. Who knows if this will happen, but the debate in Washington has changed dramatically. They used to say something like: "Oh, we'll provoke Putin to escalate this war, and he might use nuclear weapons, and then even attack NATO territory." But now they say: "Russia will collapse by this failed war." So I think Putin's goal in this war is to survive. To do this, he hopes that if he throws enough Russian soldiers into the battle, and even if tens or hundreds of thousands die, it won't matter, because, in the end, many Ukrainian soldiers will die, the economy will suffer, the civilian population can’t take it anymore, and Ukraine will finally capitulate. Putin thinks that he will find a way to declare victory, but this will not happen," he added.