CIA Director: Putin with excessive confidence that he can defeat Ukraine

As the war in Ukraine enters the second year, CIA Director William Burns said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has excessive confidence in the Russian Army's ability to gradually force Ukraine to surrender.

During a TV interview, Mr. Burns said that the head of the Russian intelligence services had revealed during a November meeting a sense of arrogance and excessive pride in the same line as Mr. Putin himself that “could use time in his behalf, that he believes it could gradually crush Ukraine, that it could wear off European allies, and that over time a political fatigue will also take place <x1.

This conversation, during which Mr. Burns said he warned of consequences in the event Russia uses a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, was the highly discouraging “”, according to him.

Mr. Burns said he thinks Mr. Putin is highly committed “to continue the war, despite losses in the ranks of soldiers, tactical and economic disadvantages, as well as damage to Russia's reputation.

I think Putin, right now, has full confidence in his ability... to gradually damage Ukraine”, Mr. Burns said during an interview for the “Face show the Nation” of the CBS channel, which was broadcast on Sunday. Mr. Burns said that “at a certain moment, he will have to face rising costs, with coffins that will return to some of Russia's poorest” areas, areas from which he said there are many of the recruits used as meat for top”.

Mr. Burns also said that Mr. Putin is downplaying the United States' commitment to supporting Ukraine and that his experience has found that the Russian leader's views are that Americans “have disorders in focusing attention and that very soon they will be guided to other subjects”.

These comments come at a vital moment of war, while the administration of President Biden has established conviction that Chinese leaders are considering whether to supply Russia with lethal weapons.

This would be very dangerous and unwise” said Mr. Burns, adding that such a move would further strain relations between the two countries with the world's largest economies. “therefore, I hope very much they will not do so”, he said.

Mr. Burns said the Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been observing closely how war developed and “I think in many ways it has been disturbed and clarified by what he saw”. The CIA director spoke of the situation that “has already brought Putin's arrogance Russia” and said that in authoritarian systems, where “no one challenges” leader, “you can make extraordinary mistakes”. / VOA