U.S. spy chiefs say Putin may escalate despite Ukraine setbacks

The leaders of US spy agencies believe that Putin may increase the assault on Ukraine despite the economic setbacks. Read to know more about the sad reality of “an ugly next few weeks”.

Russia-Ukraine conflict: The worse is yet to come?

According to the chief of the US spy agency, around 2,000 to 4,000 Russian troops died. Despite the troubles from sanctions, the Russian assault on Ukraine is going to become worse. “Our analysts assess that Putin is unlikely to be deterred by such setbacks and instead may escalate,” stated Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence. She added that Putin’s announcement of elevating the readiness of nuclear forces was highly unusual since the 1960s. However, the analysis has not observed major changes in the country’s nuclear position. “We also have not observed force-wide nuclear posture changes that go beyond what we’ve seen in prior moments of heightened tensions,” she added. Russia is calling the invasion a special operation. Stressing that it is not trying to occupy the nation but destroy the ‘dangerous nationalists’ and their military capacity.

“I think Putin is angry and frustrated right now. He’s likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties,” agreed William Burns, Burns is the director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). “I think Putin is angry and frustrated right now. He’s likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties,” he added. He also revealed that CIA analysts are not sure how Putin can take over the capital and replace the government with a puppet government. “I fail to see how he can produce that kind of an end game and where that leads, I think, is for an ugly next few weeks in which he doubles down with scant regard for civilian casualties,” said Burns.

The desperate situation of Ukraine

Based on the reports that Russia is cutting off basic supplies in Kyiv, the home to 2.8 million people, the situation can become more problematic. “I don’t have a specific number of days of supply that the population has. But with supplies being cut off, it will be somewhat desperate in, I would say, 10 days to two weeks,” said Lieutenant General Scott Berrier. Berrier is the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He added that “the bombing of schools and facilities that are not associated with the Ukrainian military certainly would indicate that he is stepping up right to the line if he hasn’t done so already”.

Additionally, the Chinese leaders are unsettled by the unfolding events. “They did not anticipate the significant difficulties the Russians were going to run into. I think they are unsettled by the reputational damage that can come by their close association with President Putin; second by the economic consequences at a moment when they are facing lower annual growth rates than they’ve experienced for more than three decades,” explained Bruns. They are now questioning the effect on the global economy and the stronger bond between Europe and America, following the invasion.