Russian President Vladimir Putin is “determined” to “double” his forces Their attack on Ukraine CIA Director Bill Burns said Saturday that they will help make progress. To AFP.
Between the lines: “He’s in a state of unbearable mood,” Burns, a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, told FT Weekend in DC. Russia’s annual victory day On Monday, analysts warn that this could mark a key moment in the invasion of Ukraine.
Yes, but: “As an intelligence community, we do not find practical evidence at this stage of Russia’s planning for the deployment or possible use of tactical nuclear weapons,” Burns told AFP.
- “We have heard from the Russian leadership that we can not take that possibility lightly.”
Note: Chinese President Xi Jinping said Burns had “not calmed down at all by the damage to China’s reputation caused by Russia’s brutal involvement in the aggression against the Ukrainians.” [and] Certainly not resolved by the economic uncertainty created by the war. ” Financial Times Reports.
- “I do not think for a second that it has eroded Xi’s resolve over time Take control of Taiwan“But it” affects their calculation, “Burns added.
What to look for: Burns believes the second phase of the Russian military offensive on Ukraine, which focuses on the country’s east and south, is “more dangerous” than the first eight weeks of the war. CBS News Notes.
- “Putin has played a significant role in this second phase of the incredibly ugly and brutal offensive against the Ukrainians,” he said, trying to “learn some lessons from the failures of the first phase.”
Large image: Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said After facing “fierce Ukrainian opposition” at every turn, Russian forces have lagged behind in the Donbass and in the south.
- Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Nate Price said It would be a “huge contradiction” if Moscow used the holiday to mark Russia’s victory over the Nazis in World War II as a day of official declaration of war on Ukraine.
- It would allow them to “force themselves to do what they can not do now, to expose to the world that their war effort is failing and that they are faltering in their military campaign and military objectives.”
Go deeper: Axios explains Ukraine
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