Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is confident that time is on his side in the war against Ukraine, because he has enough resources to fuel his war machine.

 This is reported by Bloomberg.

 An annual report by Estonia's foreign intelligence service said that while Russia is unlikely to achieve a "qualitative leap" in its ability to wage war, Putin will not be deterred by the failure of the first year of the invasion. A key factor for him is the weakening of support for Ukraine from partners such as the United States and NATO.

 "Putin is biding his time, believing that Ukraine and the West will exhaust themselves earlier than Russia," the message reads. Putin also believes that he will be able to use bombs to force Ukraine to sit down at the negotiating table.

 The report notes that even as Russian military strategists have been caught off guard by Ukraine's ability to defend itself and the scale of US and EU sanctions, Putin's government shows no signs of relenting and may employ the tools of "propaganda imperialism".

 Meanwhile, the Russian elite is increasingly worried that Putin "has gone mad, but most of them lack the courage to take real steps towards change."

 At the same time, in a potential post-Putin Russia, there is not a single significant group that professes democratic values. Instead, "radical" factions compete for power. Among them is the leader of the "Wagneri" Yevgeny Prigozhin and the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.

 Estonian intelligence calls Putin's authoritarian regime "Soviet Union 2.0," where "there was no new Gorbachev on the horizon, let alone Yeltsin."

 Intelligence is concerned that the invasion has raised the risk of a military conflict in the Baltic states, as further mobilization and large-scale Russian military exercises planned for later this year are expected to heighten tensions on NATO's eastern flank.

 Regarding the Baltics as the most vulnerable region in the 30-member military alliance, Russia is "very likely" to prioritize rebuilding its forces near Estonia, which could take up to four years.

 As previously reported, Putin is preparing a new offensive against Ukraine in February-March and is bracing the Russian Federation for a multi-year confrontation with the USA and its allies.

 Meanwhile, ISW analysts note that the dictator is afraid to take risks to achieve his goals in the war against Ukraine.