Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared for his war on Ukraine for at least a year before inciting it and is likely to be able to maintain a drawn-out offensive for a long time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his recent interview with CBS News.

“He has — he is perhaps the leader of a very great country with a lot of people living there, with a lot of means, and he is really doing this brutal war with — and he prepared for it [for] very long," Scholz said.

"I think the decision to do this war was taken one year before it started or possibly earlier because he prepared for it. And so, he will be able to continue with the war for a really long time."

The US intelligence estimated that Russia currently holds about 20% of Ukraine, mostly in eastern Ukraine.