American intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin remains determined to continue the war against Ukraine and achieve victory on the battlefield, according to NBC News citing a senior US official and a senior congressional official.

The assessment, presented to members of Congress this month, indicates agencies see no sign Russia is prepared to compromise as President Donald Trump attempts to broker peace negotiations. Putin is now believed to be more entrenched than at any previous point since ordering the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Despite facing significant troop casualties and economic difficulties after Ukrainian deep drone strikes and international sanctions, the intelligence assessment found that Putin is committed to securing Ukrainian territory to justify the war's human and financial costs.

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Trump blames "hatred" between leaders for stalled talks

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Russia's war on Ukraine remains deadlocked due to "a lot of hatred" between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and stated he would not meet with Putin again unless a concrete peace agreement was likely.

"Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don't go anywhere," Trump said.

He added that he canceled a planned meeting with Putin in Budapest because Russia refused to revise its maximalist demands, stating "I'm not going to be wasting my time." 

Trump campaigned on a promise to secure peace within 24 hours of returning to office, but his efforts to persuade Russia to agree to a ceasefire have not succeeded.

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Trump sanctions Russian oil giants

Demonstrating increasing frustration, Trump imposed sanctions on two major Russian oil companies—Rosneft and Lukoil.

The sanctions, which freeze the companies' US-based assets and bar American firms from doing business with them, mark the first major punitive measures against Russia since Trump returned to office in January.

"I just felt it was time," Trump told reporters, describing the new sanctions as "tremendous" and adding that he had "waited a long time" to implement them but hopes "they won't be on for long."

Trump also publicly stated this month that he might provide long-range US-made Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, though he subsequently withdrew from the idea following a phone conversation with Putin.

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Ukraine and allies urge more pressure on Moscow

Ukrainian officials, European governments, and supporters of Ukraine in Congress have repeatedly called on Trump to exert pressure on Russia through arms shipments and sanctions to push Moscow toward a ceasefire and peace negotiations.

In August, the White House characterized a summit in Alaska between Putin and Trump as a promising step toward possible peace negotiations. However, the war has continued, and Russia has maintained hard-line demands that would effectively disarm Ukraine, prohibit it from joining NATO, and block deployment of any Western-led peacekeeping forces.

Russia casts the shadow of a nuclear war on the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin began nuclear exercises on 22 October, which included launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, Newsweek reports.

Russia’s nuclear triad operates at full power

According to a statement published by the Russian state news agency RIA on Telegram, all Russian nuclear triads—land-based, sea-based, and air-based—participated in the exercises.

During the drills, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) “Yars” was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, while strategic Tu-95MS bombers conducted strikes with air-launched cruise missiles.

A strategic submarine cruiser also launched a ballistic missile from the Barents Sea.

“The exercises tested the level of preparedness of the military command and the practical skills of operational personnel in organizing the management of subordinate forces,” the Kremlin statement said.

Nuclear tension rises as peace talks on Ukraine hang in the balance 

According to AP News, the meeting in Budapest was postponed following a statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Rubio said the meeting “is unlikely to yield positive results in peace negotiations,” as Russia has not demonstrated readiness to make concessions or even discuss compromise conditions.

Earlier, Trump announced plans to meet with Putin in Budapest to talk over conditions for ending the war after pressure regarding potential Tomahawk supplies to Ukraine. However, these announced intentions were insufficient for Moscow to overlook the “root causes of the war,” which is simply the existence of Ukraine as an independent state, which Lavrov reminded them of after the call.

Moscow pushes the security to the edge

That these exercises were clearly aimed at influencing Trump is evidenced by statements from the Russian Foreign Ministry, claiming that “the hostile policies of NATO countries could lead to a head-on collision of nuclear states.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that Moscow must ensure the resilience of Washington’s rejection of the extremely hostile anti-Russian course of the previous US administration, TASS reported. 

“We… must make sure… of Washington’s readiness to work on eliminating the root causes of the current Russia–West crisis,” he said.

Ryabkov also said that “calls for nuclear disarmament without considering the current military-political situation are completely unrealistic.”

“In the event that the US rejects the Russian initiative on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the nuclear threat will increase, but Russia will undoubtedly ensure its own security,” Ryabkov added.

Putin made statements regarding the new nuclear treaty in September and October 2025. Specifically, on 22 September 2025, at a meeting of the Russian Security Council, he declared Russia’s readiness to continue adhering to the treaty's main quantitative limits for one more year after its official expiration on 5 February 2026.

He added that this will be possible if the US “acts in a similar manner and does not take steps that undermine or violate the existing balance of deterrence potential.”

Bulgaria has signaled it would open its airspace to allow Russian leader Vladimir Putin to reach a planned summit with US President Donald Trump in Budapest, Hungary. 

Bulgaria ready to open skies for Putin

On 20 October, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported that Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev stated his country is prepared to allow Putin’s aircraft to fly through its territory, should a request be made. He made the comment during a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg.

“Bulgaria will provide an air corridor for Russian President Vladimir Putin, if it is requested. [...] When efforts are made to achieve peace, and if a condition for that is holding a meeting, the most logical thing is for such a meeting to be facilitated in all possible ways,” Georgiev told BNR.

When directly asked whether Bulgaria would open a corridor for Putin, Georgiev responded rhetorically:

“And how do you propose the meeting take place if one of the participants cannot get there?”

BNR also quoted Georgi Markov, who described the planned meeting in Budapest as a “guarantee” that a global war would allegedly be avoided. 

If Bulgaria allows Putin’s plane to pass, it would also need to cross either Serbian or Romanian airspace to reach Hungary.

No request from Moscow yet

BNR noted that Moscow has not yet contacted Bulgaria about any potential flight plans. However, Hungary—Moscow's ally inside the EU—has already guaranteed that Putin will be able to enter and exit the country without obstruction.

The European Commission clarified that while both Putin and Lavrov have frozen financial accounts in the EU, there is no formal travel ban preventing them from entering the bloc.

Since March 2023, Putin has been subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, alleging his responsibility for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.