Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “believes he is winning” the war with Ukraine despite most analysts assessing that Moscow’s military has largely failed.

The Austrian head of government on Monday became the first Western leader to sit down with Putin since he launched the internationally condemned invasion of Ukraine on February 24. During a Sunday interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press, Nehammer described the discussion as “frank and tough,” explaining that he told the Russian leader directly that his forces were suffering substantial losses and committing alleged war crimes.
“It was not a friendly conversation,” the chancellor said, who added that he is “pessimistic” about the direction the war is going, noting that Russia appears to be preparing for a “massive” new battle in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

“I think he is now in his own war logic. He thinks the war is necessary for security guarantees for the Russian Federation. He doesn’t trust the international community. He blames Ukrainians for genocide in the Donbas region,” Nehammer explained, based on his conversation with Putin.