There is “absolutely no evidence” Russia’s president wants to negotiate peace in Ukraine, the head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service has said.
MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore told a news conference on Friday Vladimir Putin was “stringing us along”.
“He seeks to impose his imperial will by all means at his disposal. But he cannot succeed,” Sir Moore said.
“Bluntly, Putin has bitten off more than he can chew. He thought he was going to win an easy victory. But he – and many others – underestimated the Ukrainians.”
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Sir Moore’s comments come a day after US President Donald Trump said the Russian president had “let me down” in his efforts to end the war.
Speaking at a news conference during his state visit to the UK, President Trump said he thought the war in Ukraine would be the easiest conflict to resolve “because of my relationship with President Putin… but he’s let me down. He’s really let me down.”
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Mr Trump’s diplomatic efforts, including a summit with President Putin in Alaska last month, have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.
Standing alongside him, Sir Keir Starmer said the two leaders had discussed how to “decisively increase the pressure on Putin to get him to agree a peace deal that will last,” but that Putin’s actions in Ukraine in recent weeks are “not the actions of someone who wants peace”.
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Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Sir Moore said the ensuing war had strengthened Ukraine’s national identity and accelerated its shift towards the West.
“Putin has sought to convince the world that Russian victory is inevitable. But he lies. He lies to the world. He lies to his people. Perhaps he even lies to himself,” he said.
Putin is “mortgaging his country’s future for his own personal legacy and a distorted version of history”, he added, saying the war was “accelerating this decline”.
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Sir Moore, who leaves his post at the end of September after five years as the head of MI6, made the remarks at an outgoing news conference in Istanbul.
The Secret Intelligence Service will then get its first female chief, Blaise Metreweli.
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Sir Moore was speaking as MI6 unveiled a dark web portal, dubbed “Silent Courier”, to recruit new spies for the UK.
Special correspondent
The outgoing MI6 chief has said – in his final speech as head of the UK’s foreign intelligence agency – that he sees “no evidence” Russian leader Vladimir Putin has “any interest in a negotiated peace short of Ukrainian capitulation”.
In a speech sometimes tinged with emotion and packed with pride about his years leading the agency, Sir Richard Moore told a small group of invited guests in Istanbul where he once served as ambassador and where one of his children was born, how he believes Putin is “stringing us along”.
His successor, Blaise Metreweli – the first woman appointed to the position as ‘C’ (as the agency’s leader is nicknamed) – was in the audience to hear him appeal to Russian citizens to help the British spy on the Kremlin.
“To those men and women in Russia who have truths to share and the courage to share them, I invite you to contact M16,” Sir Richard implored. “You will be working to bring peace to our continent; to protect the long-term interests and redeem the honour of your country”.
Sir Richard went on to assure the Russian citizens who might be tempted that “we will do everything to keep you safe”.
The decision to move into the dark web to encourage the sharing of information comes as peace in Ukraine seems as far away as ever.
The spy chief – who has been at the helm for five years – identified Russia alongside China and Iran as the countries threatening UK security the most.
But he also added Gaza needs peace too, “for a reset to take hold in the region and to prevent further appalling suffering of innocent Palestinians,” and warned the Israeli bombardment there was “fuelling radicalisation globally”.
The secure messaging platform aims to boost national security by making it easier for the intelligence agency to recruit potential agents in Russia and around the world, the Foreign Office said.
“To those men and women in Russia who have truths to share and the courage to share them, I invite you to contact MI6,” Sir Moore said.
