Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Mar 31, 2023

CIA chief says Putin too confident he can grind down Ukraine

CIA chief says Putin too confident he can grind down Ukraine

As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, CIA Director William Burns said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being “too confident” in his military’s ability to grind Ukraine into submission.

Burns, in a television interview, said the head of Russia’s intelligence services had displayed in their November meeting “a sense of cockiness and hubris” that reflected Putin’s own beliefs “that he can make time work for him, that he believes he can grind down the Ukrainians that he can wear down our European allies, that political fatigue will eventually set in.”

People take a loot at a destroyed Russian T-72B tank, secured from the Ukrainian village of Dmytrivka, outside Kyiv, and placed on display in front of the Russian Embassy in Riga, Latvia, on Feb.26, 2023.


That conversation, in which Burns warned of the consequences if Russia were to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, was “pretty dispiriting,” Burns said.

Burns said he judged Putin as “quite determined” to continue prosecuting the war, despite the casualties, tactical shortcomings and economic and reputational damage to Russia.

“I think Putin is, right now, entirely too confident of his ability ... to wear down Ukraine,” Burns told CBS’ “Face the Nation” in an interview that aired Sunday. Burns said that “at some point, he’s going to have to face up to increasing costs as well, in coffins coming home to some of the poorest parts of Russia,” where he said many of the conscripts “being thrown as cannon fodder” are from.

Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns.


Burns also said Putin was underestimating US resolve to support Ukraine, saying that it has been his experience that the Russian leader’s view is that Americans have “attention deficit disorder and we’ll move on to some other issue eventually.”

The comments came at a critical juncture for the war as the Biden administration is “confident that the Chinese leadership is considering” whether to provide “lethal” military equipment to Russia.

“It would be a very risky and unwise bet,” Burns said, adding that such a move could only further strain relations between the world’s two largest economics.  “That’s why I hope very much that they don’t.”

Burns said China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has closely watched how the war has evolved, and “I think, in many ways, he’s been unsettled and sobered by what he’s seen.” The CIA director spoke of “where Putin’s hubris has now gotten Russia,” and said that in authoritarian systems, when “nobody challenges” a leader, “you can make some huge blunders.”

Meanwhile, the question of military aid and the pace of the war is also a source of uncertainty in the US as Republican lawmakers criticized the administration for not sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US was providing Ukraine with the military aid needed to retake territory seized by Russia. The domestic politics of support for Ukraine are also complicated by some GOP members of Congress who say the administration should pull back and focus more on the needs at home.

Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, said planes and long-range artillery could help end the war on a faster timeline. “This whole thing is taking too long,” McCaul said. “And it really didn’t have to happen this way,” said McCaul, R-Texas.

Ukraine won support last month from Baltic nations and Poland in its quest to obtain Western fighter jets, but there have been no signs that nations such as the US and Britain will change their stance of refusing to provide warplanes to Kyiv.

Biden said in an ABC News interview on Friday that he’s “ruling it out for now,” saying that they are not the weaponry that Ukrainians need in the near term.
But Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the White House has been slow in providing what Ukraine seeks, including jets. “That has been a pattern with this administration from the beginning, where they have slow-rolled critical military weapons systems,” he said.

Jake Sullivan said the US is already providing parts to keep Ukraine’s fleet of Soviet-era jets flying, but supplying F-16s “is really a question for another day, for another phase” of the war.

Jake Sullivan appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CNN’s “State of the Union” and ABC’s “This Week.” McCaul was on ABC and Dan Sullivan was on NBC.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
Close
0:00
0:00
Don’t Dismiss China’s Peacemaking Bid
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
Father obliterates council members following viral TikTok of biological male masturbating in women’s bathroom..
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
BVI Freedom Song
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Nashville style execution
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
“We've had evidence prior to the pandemic that masks were largely ineffective at preventing community transmission of influenza “
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz:
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz rejects being labeled a "billionaire"
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Jamie Dimon is being deposed over JPMorgan Chase role in Epstein lawsuits
Hello Dolly
This is how an electric car saves all the energy that he would have spent if he had lived 50 years longer.
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
Brand new security footage has just been released to the public showing the Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Social Media censoring users for saying the true
Yes He Can
Smart Iranian fashion designer teaching dummy TV anchors lesson about reality
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
AMERICA, 2023
Unforgettable
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
The Lord's Prayer
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Siyahamba
UK: Humza Yousaf replaces Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister in Scotland
Ray Charles And The Voices Of Jubilaton, Oh, Happy Day
In a dramatic U-turn against His Government: Judicial Reform Legislation Must Be Halted, Says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Ramblin' Rose
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Protoje - Who Knows ft. Chronixx
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Pressure - Virgin Islands Nice
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
My God Is Real (Yes, God Is Real)
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
The Lion King Circle of Life by LEBO M. — LIVE at the HAVASI Symphonic
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Louis Armstrong - When The Saints Go Marching In
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
Kanye West Sunday Service - hallelujah, salvation, and glory
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Jonathan Nelson - I Believe (Island Medley
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
From The Virgin Islands Sqad Up
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
Common, John Legend - Glory
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell - If I Ain't Got You
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
Nashville police officer, and a female driver shooting one another
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
BVI Freedom Song
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
A brief banking situation report
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Hello Dolly
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Yes He Can
A Mississippian man, who was once considered a “ticking time bomb,” has lost a whopping 165 kilograms! What motivated this incredible transformation?
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
Unforgettable
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
The Lord's Prayer
Fitness scam
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Siyahamba
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Ray Charles And The Voices Of Jubilaton, Oh, Happy Day
×