Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Ukraine won't last as Russia will attack again in years to come, a former advisor to the newly-elected US President has warned.
Mr Trump has previously vowed to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of his presidency, but this did not materialise.
It is also not known how the US President intends to end the war, nor how a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine might look.
Kurt Volker, US Ambassador to NATO under George W. Bush and a Ukraine envoy in the first Trump administration from 2017 to 2019, told the Daily Express that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use any peace deal to rearm his military before attacking Ukraine again.
He said: “There's a guarantee that's what Russia and Putin will do. We should assume that's what they will do.
“As soon as they have respite in the fighting, they will work hard to undermine Ukraine through hybrid means, politics, sabotage, intelligence operations, you name it.
“They will rebuild their armed forces and they will plan to attack again. That's exactly what Russia will do.
“Knowing that, what we should do is do better. We need to strengthen Ukraine, provide military support, help them reform their economy, integrate them into the EU. Maybe we can have a European troop presence in Ukraine. We need to deter Putin and make him think an attack will be too costly.”
This week, Mr. Trump urged Putin to “make a deal” and end the war. He also threatened to hit Moscow with more sanctions.
While Mr. Trump's vision for a peace plan is not yet clear, previous reports have indicated that he will aim to freeze the conflict as it stands while establishing a demilitarized zone in Europe.
The UK and France and also in talks to form a peacekeeping force in Europe.
Mr. Volker added that, while Putin does not want to end the fighting, the despot will be forced to accept a ceasefire because of his struggling economy and massive military losses.
The former advisor to Mr Trump explained: “Putin is in pretty bad shape, he has really damaged the Russian economy and military. He is really not doing well.
“Trump will tell him he has to stop the war. Putin doesn't want to, he wants to take over Ukraine. But when he sees the US is going to ramp up energy production and exports, driving down prices and hurting Russia's economy.
“When Putin sees the US imposing tough sanctions on Russia's energy sector, he will come to the conclusion that he has to stop the fighting.
“Putin can't go on any further. Russia's overseas assets are all frozen. Its domestic currency reserves will only last until the autumn of 2025 at their current rate of spending.
“Russia knows it's in a weak position. In 2025 Putin will have to end the fighting. He will come to the realization that continuing the war will risk his own power in Russia by destroying the country.”
Russia's Central Bank has been forced to raise interest rates to 21% to try and combat inflation.
According to the US, Moscow has suffered more than 800,000 casualties (dead or wounded) since the beginning of the invasion.