Russian President Vladimir Putin “convinced” that his forces are “doubling” their attack on ukraine will enable them to advance, CIA Director Bill Burns said Saturday, Per AFP.
Between the lines: “He’s in a state of mind that he doesn’t think he can afford to lose,” Burns, a former US ambassador to Moscow, said at the FT Weekend festival in the US capital. Russia’s annual Victory Day On Monday, which analysts warned could represent a pivotal moment in the invasion of Ukraine.
Yes, but: “As the intelligence community, we don’t see practical evidence at this point of Russian planning to deploy or even potentially use tactical nuclear weapons,” Burns was quoted as saying by AFP.
- “Given the kind of rattling of swords that…we heard from the Russian leadership, we cannot underestimate these possibilities.”
not worth anything Burns said Chinese President Xi Jinping “was somewhat troubled by the reputational damage that could be inflicted on China by associating with the brutality of Russian aggression against the Ukrainians. [and] It has certainly not been settled by the economic uncertainty that the war has produced.” financial times reports.
- “I don’t think for a moment that this eroded Shi’s determination over time on that control of TaiwanBut it “affects their calculations,” Burns added.
what do you want to watch: Burns believes that the second phase of Russia’s military offensive on Ukraine, which focuses on the east and south of the country, could be “more dangerous” than the first eight weeks of the war. CBS News Notes.
- “Putin has staked a lot on this second phase of an incredibly ugly and brutal attack against the Ukrainians” and was trying to “adapt to some of the lessons learned from the failures of the first phase,” he added.
The Big Picture: Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday, Russian forces lagged behind in Donbass and in the south after being met with “heavy Ukrainian resistance” at every turn.
- State Department spokesman Ned said the price This week it would be “big irony” for Moscow to use the D-Day holiday, when Russians commemorate the victory over the Nazis in World War II, to officially declare war on Ukraine.
- This would allow them to increase the number of recruits in a way that they cannot do now, in a way that would amount to revealing to the world that their war effort has failed, that they are floundering in their military campaign and military objectives. Price added.
deepen: Axios explains Ukraine
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