In his first public speech as CIA Director, William J. Burns on Thursday called the killings of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha a “crime” and said Russia had “inflicted enormous material and reputational damage on itself” following an invasion ordered by President Vladimir Putin seven weeks ago.
Burns, who has pledged to Putin as US ambassador to Russia, has made fierce accusations against the Russian leader and returned to previous Russian atrocities.
“I have no doubt about the severe pain and damage that Putin may continue to inflict on Ukraine, or the brutal brutality with which Russian force is being used,” Burns said during a speech at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. “The crimes in Bucha are horrific. The scenes of devastation in Mariupol and Kharkiv are sadly reminiscent of the images I saw in Grozny, Chechnya, as a young diplomat in the winter of 1994-95: Forty square blocks in the city center, flattened by Russian shelling and bombing, leaving thousands civilian casualties. “
As leaders debate the “genocide,” there is a growing focus on atrocities in Ukraine
Burns’ comments were in line with previous assessments by senior Biden officials, including President Biden, that Putin was responsible for war crimes in Ukraine. On Wednesday, Victoria Nuland, deputy secretary of state for political affairs, said the United States was likely to find genocide.
On April 12, in Des Moines, President Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “dictator” committing “genocide” in Ukraine. (Video: The Washington Post, Photo: The Washington Post)
Speaking in Iowa on Tuesday, Biden called Russia’s attack on Ukraine “genocide.” He later told reporters that he had deliberately used the word and that he would “leave it up to lawyers to decide internationally whether it meets the requirements.”
“It certainly seems that way to me,” Biden added.
Burns also spoke of his own interactions in Moscow with Putin and his advisers in early November as the US intelligence community tracked the build-up of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine in apparent preparations for an invasion.
Burns said Biden had sent him to Russia to convey “the depth of our concern.” [Putin’s] war planning and the consequences for Russia of trying to carry out this plan. I was worried about what I heard. “
Although it did not appear at the time that Putin had irreversibly decided to attack, Burns said he “preferred to lean in that direction, apparently convinced that this window is closing to shape Ukraine’s orientation.”
Putin seemed to believe that winter offered a “favorable landscape” for invasion and that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and his fellow citizens were unlikely to offer “effective resistance.” Putin also said that the Russian military was “capable of a quick, decisive victory at a minimum cost” and that it had made the Russian economy “resistant to sanctions from a military chest of foreign exchange reserves,” Burns said.
Arrogance and isolation have led Vladimir Putin to misjudge Ukraine
These assumptions turned out to be deeply wrong. The Russian military quickly sank after the February 24 invasion and was gripped by logistical challenges and a fierce response from the Ukrainian military., which killed thousands of Russian soldiers. The United States and European countries immediately sanctioned Russia’s central bank and froze hundreds of billions of dollars in reserves that Putin left open overseas.
Putin also misjudged Ukraine and its people, Burns said. “Ukraine, he has said for years, is not a real country. But the real states are struggling. And this is what the Ukrainians did with such remarkable courage, led with such courage and determination by President Zelensky.
The CIA director made several remarks personally to Putin, describing him as a provoked “apostle of retribution” who remains “firmly convinced that the West – especially the United States – has taken advantage of Russia’s historic weakness in the 1990s. of the last century. “
“His appetite for risk has increased as he tightens his grip on Russia,” Burns continued. “His circle of advisers has narrowed, and in this narrow circle it has never been a strengthening of his career to question his judgment or his stubborn, almost mystical belief that his destiny is to restore Russia’s sphere of influence. Every day, Putin demonstrates that diminishing powers can be at least as destructive as growing ones.
A few days after the invasion of Ukraine, Putin ordered Russia’s nuclear forces to raise the level of combat readiness, which alarmed world leaders and raised the prospect that the war could witness unprecedented use of nuclear weapons.
But it is unclear whether Putin’s order led to a change in Russia’s position, Burns said during a question-and-answer session.
“Although we have seen some rhetorical stance from the Kremlin on moving to higher levels of nuclear alert, so far we have not seen much practical evidence of the type of deployment or, you know, military dispositions that would heighten that concern,” he said. Burns. “But we are watching this very closely. This is one of our most important responsibilities at the CIA.
Burns, who was confirmed director of the CIA in March 2021, testified in Congress, but his statements in Atlanta were the most extensive so far in an informal forum. He also highlighted the Chinese government, calling “the long-term problem posed by China’s ambitious leadership … the most important geopolitical challenge, as far as I can see, in the 21st century.”
“Xi Jinping’s silent partner in Putin’s aggression, China, is our greatest challenge, in many ways the deepest test the CIA has ever faced,” Burns added.
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