CIA Director William Burns told lawmakers on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is betting that Russian forces can prevail in Ukraine through a serious war of attrition and believes that “Ukraine means more to them than to us.” keeps.”
“Despite Russian troop morale in Ukraine and other problems,” Burns told a House Intelligence Committee hearing, “Putin is taking a very long-term view.”
“I think he’s doubling down,” Burns said. “I believe he is convinced that he can make time work for him, that he can grind Ukrainians through this war of attrition, that he can pin down Ukraine’s Western supporters.
“And he is also convinced and has been for some time that Ukraine means more to us than he does,” said the CIA chief, a former US ambassador to Russia.
“So the challenge, I think, is to puncture that view.”
In its annual report on global threats, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence wrote that Russia would not be able to make major territorial gains in Ukraine this year, and would be hard-pressed to take the entire Donbas region to the east of the country. ,
“The Russian military has and will continue to face challenges of attrition, personnel shortages and morale, which have made its forces vulnerable to Ukrainian counter-attacks,” the report said.
On China, Burns said Beijing has not decided whether to take military action to seize control of Taiwan, but said he would “not underestimate the ambition or the determination of the current Chinese leadership in that regard.”
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said at the same hearing that a war on Taiwan would have a major impact on the global economy and the supply of semiconductors, and that the Treasury, Commerce and other US government departments have examined the potential impact.
“Studies show that if indeed Taiwan’s semiconductor production is disrupted it will have really huge implications for the global financial economy. . . Taiwan, semiconductors, chips that come out of Taiwan, electronic components around the world exist in almost every category,” Haines said.
Burns also suggested that China would have to weigh the economic impact if it chose to give arms to Russia, as it could deny it access to the European market.
“It’s important that European leaders have spoken out on this issue as well, because I think for a long time the Chinese leadership has recognized that it will drive a wedge between the United States and our European allies on this type of issue.” Could be,” Burns said. “I think the fact that several major European leaders have spoken directly about this is a very important step forward.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned China not to send arms to Russia.
Victoria Ebner Contribution,
