Russia wants to crush Ukraine and “spread out” in all directions, a former close advisor to Vladimir Putin has said. Vladislav Surkov said this week that a victory would be the “military or military and diplomatic crushing of Ukraine” and the “division of this artificial quasi-state into its natural fragments” in an interview with with French outlet L’Express. He also stated that Russia will achieve this strategic objective, which has not changed since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

This is despite “maneuvers, slowdowns, and pauses along the way”. Experts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported: “Surkov stated that the return of Ukraine to Russia’s desired and self-defined sphere of influence has been a Russian objective since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Surkov claimed that ‘Ukraine is an artificial political entity’ consisting of ‘at least’ three regions — the ‘Russian’ southern and eastern Ukraine, the ‘Russian-non-Russian’ central area, and the ‘anti-Russian’ west.”

Putin’s former advisor then suggested that “perhaps” Ukraine will exist as a “real state” in the future but as a much smaller entity, and implied that Europe will be involved in a future partitioning of Ukraine.

Surkov also claimed that “a balanced division of Ukraine will have to include a share for Brussels”.

Russia “has no borders”, he then suggested, and exists “everywhere there is Russian influence”, including cultural, military, economic, ideological, or humanitarian influence.

The country, he added, “will spread out in all directions.” Surkov was relieved of his duties by Putin in February 2020.

The ISW said: “The Kremlin has repeatedly used the idea of the Russian World to justify Russian military interventions into former Soviet states and to claim that areas of the former Soviet Union and Russian Empire are historical Russian territories.”

Experts added: “Surkov’s statements about Russia’s claims over southern and eastern Ukraine and the future expansion of Russkiy Mir are in direct contrast to [Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve] Witkoff’s statement that Russia has no territorial ambitions beyond Crimea and Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts.

“Surkov’s statements are consistent with those made by Putin and senior Russian officials, who have recently and repeatedly stated that Russia intends to bring Ukraine under Russian control and establish suzerainty over neighboring countries in order to weaken the West and strengthen Russia’s global influence.”

Sir Keir Starmer warned Putin on Thursday he would face “severe consequences” for breaching any ceasefire, as he attended a meeting of defence chiefs aimed at drawing up military plans to enforce a peace deal in Ukraine.

But the Prime Minister’s plan for an international force to support a ceasefire has been dismissed as “a posture and a pose” by Mr Witkoff.