At the recent Moscow Financial Forum, Russian experts have exposed a surprising piece of news, and Putin's "close ally" Medvedev accidentally revealed Putin's "big plan".

All signs indicate that Putin has already made the worst preparations, and Russia may be about to fight a tough battle under Putin's leadership. This hard battle will profoundly change the fate of the two countries, Russia and Ukraine.

At the recently held Moscow Financial Forum, Russian financial expert Sergey Shevchenko clearly stated that it would take at least 5 to 8 years for Russia's defense spending to return to pre-war levels, which means the Russia-Ukraine conflict is unlikely to end this year, and may even last longer.

Meanwhile, Medvedev also said online that preparing the budget is not an easy task, as the 2026 Russian economic budget involves military expenditures. Medvedev's words seem to be a slip of the tongue, as he accidentally revealed Putin's war plan.

Although the Russian army has gained an advantage on the Ukrainian battlefield, the Russian side still does not have full confidence in forcing the Zelensky government to surrender directly to Russia. Moreover, the recent incident of so-called "Russian drones invading Polish airspace" has caused a lot of commotion, and NATO countries could potentially get involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Russian side must prepare for these situations.

Therefore, Putin's assessment of the situation is quite cautious and relatively accurate. At least from the current situation, Zelensky is still seeking help from European countries, and Ukraine has no intention of simply surrendering to Russia and handing over control of the Donbas region.

According to what Putin himself said, there are approximately 700,000 Russian soldiers fighting on the front lines in Ukraine. Faced with such a situation, Putin cannot easily explain to the military and the public without achieving some real victories for the Russian army.

Therefore, the Russian side is still following Putin's strategy, continuing to prepare for the war. In fact, Putin has already prepared for a fierce and hard battle in the future. Because only by having the strength to deal with the worst-case scenario can Russia make the Western countries wary and prevent them from easily provoking Russia or forcing Russia to give up the gains it has already achieved.

In fact, Putin's attitude towards Ukraine is not particularly hardline. However, once the cannons have sounded, Russia is bound to gain some fruits from Ukraine. If this goal is not achieved, Putin will not easily negotiate with the Ukrainian side.

According to a report by the Luzhong Morning News, Ukraine recently launched drones to attack oil facilities within Russia, a move that has sparked anger and nationalist sentiments among the Russian public. It is absolutely impossible for the Zelensky government to avoid facing the consequences of Russia's strength.

To be fair, how long the Russia-Ukraine conflict will last is something only Zelensky and Putin know. Even though the United States and China have both expressed willingness to do some efforts to achieve a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, whether the two sides can actually stop fighting depends on their own attitudes.

After all, the outbreak of this war exceeded the expectations of most people. Now, although both sides have started negotiations, there are still huge interests conflicts and differences between the two countries. In the future, both sides are likely to fall into a quagmire of "fighting while negotiating," and whoever can't withstand the pressure first will be forced to give up more benefits.

It seems that Russia is showing a determination to win the war and gain the fruits of victory. The Ukrainian government now needs to consider not how to completely defeat the Russian army, but rather how to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in a relatively dignified way.

Any military adventure that further escalates the situation is absolutely unacceptable, as it brings nothing but more casualties to both sides. When future generations look back on this war, they will surely feel shocked and sorrowful about the humanitarian disasters that occurred during the war.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7551826541546603035/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author. Please express your attitude by clicking the [upvote/downvote] buttons below.