NEW YORK, December 20. /TASS/. Russia has become the master of the situation in Ukraine and now determines the steps to take to secure its success in the confrontation with the West, while the test of Moscow's new Oreshnik missile system has posed significant challenges for the United States and its allies in Ukraine, said University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer.

"He (Russian President Vladimir Putin - TASS) can be very playful, because, as I said a few minutes ago, he's in the driver's seat, and he knows that we are in deep trouble," Mearsheimer said on the Judging Freedom YouTube channel. "And he knows that the Oreshnik missile is gonna get through no matter what," the political scientist remarked.

According to the expert, Russia has become much stronger over the past two to three years because it has managed to become "a truly sovereign country."

"The Ukrainian army is in much worse shape and that's why the Russians are on the verge of victory in Ukraine," Mearsheimer admitted. "I don't know how anybody can say that Russia is in a weak position, and that Putin will be in a weak position when he bargains with [US President-elect] Donald Trump," the expert added.

Earlier, Putin stated that Moscow was ready to negotiate on Ukraine without preconditions, but taking into account the current situation and based on previously reached agreements.