Putin thinks he can outsmart the US during Ukraine peace talks, a European intelligence chief says [View all]

Source: Associated Press

By EMMA BURROWS
Updated 3:40 AM MST, February 10, 2026

LONDON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has no desire to halt Russia’s almost 4-year-old invasion of neighboring Ukraine and thinks he can “outsmart” the United States during talks with Washington about how to end the war, a senior European intelligence official told The Associated Press.

Kaupo Rosin, the head of Estonia’s foreign intelligence service, said Moscow is playing for time in the talks with Washington and “there is absolutely no discussion about how to really cooperate with the U.S. in a meaningful way.”

Rosin, who spoke at an online briefing with reporters ahead of the publication of Estonia’s annual security report on Tuesday, said the findings were based on intelligence his country gathered from “Russian internal discussions.” He did not elaborate on how the information was obtained but said the discussions showed that Russian officials believe that Washington remains Moscow’s “main enemy.”

The Estonian report says Russia is unlikely to attack NATO this year or next but that Moscow remains dangerous as it tries to build up its armed forces.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-talks-united-states-estonia-b3fadd771c01be2240a1f72f76202769