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Russian President Vladimir Putin may soon “double” in a bid to emerge victorious in Ukraine despite the deaths of more than 25,000 Russian troops and growing economic sanctions from the international community, a senior US intelligence official said.
The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, said on Saturday that Putin was optimistic about the outcome of the war, despite historic losses and failed attempts to seize the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
“He is in a mood where he does not believe he can afford to lose,” Burns said during a Financial Times event in Washington, Reuters reported. “I think he is convinced at the moment that doubling will still allow him to make progress.”
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While military experts believed the war could end quickly, Ukraine’s spirit remained steadfast despite more than 70 days of fighting, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky won aid from countries around the world, helping his country’s chances in the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a cabinet meeting via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, March 23, 2022 (Mikhail Klimentiev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) (Mikhail Klimentiev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The CIA director also said the potential loss would have devastating consequences for Putin, “because he bet so much on the choices he made to launch this invasion,” AFP reported.
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Burns said he did not think Russia would use nuclear weapons to win the war, and explained that Western intelligence efforts saw no sign of Putin deploying them.
Smoke rises from Azovstal Metallurgical Plant in Mariupol, in the territory under the government of the Donetsk People’s Republic, east of Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, May 5, 2022 (AP Photo) (AP Photo)
“As an intelligence community, we see no practical evidence at this time of Russian planning for the deployment or even potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,” Burns was quoted as saying by AFP.
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He said intelligence services “will not take these opportunities lightly” and that the CIA will continue to closely monitor Russia’s interest in the use of nuclear weapons, according to Reuters.
“So we remain very focused as an intelligence service … on these opportunities at a time when the stakes are high for Russia,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin talks with Roscosmos space agency staff at a rocket assembly plant during a visit to the Vostochny spaceport near Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Blagoveshchensk in the Far Eastern region of Amur Tsiolkovsky, Russia. Tuesday, April 12, 2022 (Evgeniy Biyatov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo by AP)
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Burns also discussed China and its government’s bid to acquire Taiwan, an interest that has grown since China watched Russia’s war with Ukraine, he said.
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