The CIA chief said Putin has been “stewing” about Ukraine for years. (file)
Washington:
CIA Director Bill Burns said on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he cannot afford to lose in Ukraine and is “doubling down” the war, but plans to use strategic nuclear weapons. do not show any signs.
Burns stated that despite the Russian army’s failure to capture Kyiv and his struggle to move along the main frontiers of the war in the southeastern Donbass region, the Russian leader has not changed his view that his forces could defeat Ukraine. .
The US spy chief told a Financial Times conference that Putin’s confidence in the Russian military’s ability to quell Ukrainian resistance may not have been shaken despite the battlefield defeat.
“I think he’s in a frame of mind that he doesn’t believe he can lose,” Burns said.
He said Putin has for years been “stewing” on Ukraine – once part of the Soviet Union – in a “very flammable combination of complaint and ambition and insecurity”.
Burns said “Putin has not shied away from the resistance in the war” because he bet so heavily on the choices he made to launch the invasion.
“I think he’s confident right now that doubling will still enable him to make progress,” Burns said.
tactical nuclear weapons
Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia who has spent a lot of time studying the Russian leader, said he and other Western intelligence agencies see no indication that Moscow is trying to win Ukraine or target Kyiv supporters. Tactical nuclear weapons are ready to be deployed. ,
Russia put its nuclear forces on high alert shortly after launching the offensive on 24 February.
Since then Putin has made little indirect threats, hinting at Russia’s willingness to deploy strategic nuclear weapons if the West directly intervenes in the Ukraine conflict.
“We, as an intelligence community, do not see practical evidence at this point of the Russian plan for the deployment or potential use of strategic nuclear weapons,” Burns said.
“Given the kind of loud voices we’ve heard from the Russian leadership, we can’t take those possibilities lightly,” he said.
“That’s why we focus very sharply as an intelligence service … on those possibilities at a time when the stakes are very high for Russia,” he said.
Burns made no assessment of the current battlefield situation or predicted how the war would end.
China ‘turbulent’
But he said China, which Washington now sees as its primary adversary, is closely studying the lessons of the war and what they mean for Beijing’s desire to take control of Taiwan.
Burns said he does not believe Chinese President Xi Jinping has changed his goal of eventually uniting Taiwan with China, by force if necessary.
But he said he thinks Beijing has been “surprised” by the poor performance of Russian military forces, as well as strong defense support provided by the West to Kyiv, along with stiff resistance coming from across Ukrainian society.
Russia’s experience in Ukraine is likely influencing Beijing’s calculations of “how and when” they try to gain control of Taiwan, which China sees as a renegade province.
“I think they have been particularly impressed by the way the Transatlantic Coalition has come together to impose the economic cost as a result of that aggression on Russia,” he continued.
“Beijing is troubled by the fact that what Putin has done is to bring Europeans and Americans closer together,” Burns said.
“What is the conclusion to be drawn from all this remains a question mark,” he said.
“I think the Chinese leadership is looking very carefully at the cost and consequences of any attempt to use force to gain control of Taiwan.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)