Gabbard denies US intelligence that warned Putin has war goals beyond Ukraine

Published December 20, 2025 11:22pm ET



Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard denied U.S. intelligence that reportedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin is aiming to capture all of Ukraine and parts of Europe that were formerly under Soviet control.

Reuters reported on Saturday that intelligence shows not only is Putin still looking to take all of Ukraine, but his war goals extend to Europe, citing six anonymous sources. One of the sources said the most recent intelligence report from that batch was from September, months before President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war. That peace plan includes only some land concessions with Ukraine, while Putin also recently dismissed claims of potential Russian attacks on Europe as “nonsense.”

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