Former Ukrainian Defense MinisterOleksii Reznikov has said that Russia's war against Ukraine will only truly end with the death or resignation of Vladimir Putin. In an interview with The Times, Reznikov described the invasion not as a strategic operation, but as a deeply personal endeavor for the Russian president - an obsession that has gripped him and shows no signs of loosening.

Reznikov argued that as long as Putin remains in power, the war in one form or another will persist. Even if Moscow were to agree to a ceasefire or accept the establishment of demilitarized buffer zones, the aggression would likely continue in the form of hybrid warfare - cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and covert operations - similar to what Russia engaged in prior to the full-scale assault launched in 2022.

He expressed confidence that any potential successor within Putin's inner circle would likely abandon the war, recognizing the unsustainable damage that Western sanctions have inflicted on Russia's economy. In Reznikov's view, the long-term viability of the conflict simply doesn?t make sense to those who might take the reins after Putin.

?Putin fears Ukraine because our path is a direct threat to his system,? Reznikov said, noting the contrast between Ukraine's European, democratic ambitions and the authoritarianism entrenched in the Kremlin. As long as Ukrainians pursue a liberal, pro-European future, they serve as a living example that undermines the Kremlin's ideological grip over its own people.

Reznikov, who served as defense minister from the eve of Russia's invasion until the fall of 2023, believes that a peaceful future alongside Russia is only possible after a fundamental change of leadership in Moscow. Only then, he said, can Ukraine hope for a genuine end to hostility and the beginning of normal, stable relations with its neighbor.