CIA Director Says Putin May Consider Nuclear Weapons

WASHINGTON – director of said the CIA on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir V. Putin is “potentially desperate to eliminate the appearance of victory in Ukraine can tempt him to order use of tactical or low-yield nuclear weapons by publicly discussing for in first a time of unrest that went through the White House for seven weeks of conflict.

directorWilliam J. Burns, who served as US Ambassador to Russia and is a member of administration who dealt with the most with Mr. Putin, said about the potential detonation of such a weapon – even as warning shot – there was a possibility that the United States remained “very concerned”Oh. But he immediately warned that so far, despite Mr. Putin’s frequent calls of nuclear threats, he saw no “practical evidence” of kinds of military deployment or relocation of weapons that involve such move was inevitable.

“Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the failures they faced not yet militarily of us may take lightly the threat posed by the potential use of tactical or low-yield nuclear weapons,” Mr. Burns said during the session after a speech he gave at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

He said in answer to question from former Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia, who helped create program who brought nuclear weapons out of Ukraine and others. former Soviet states 30 years ago.

Tactical weapons are sometimes referred to as “battlefield nuclear weapons”, smaller weapons that can be fired out of mortar or even exploded like mine, as opposed to “strategic” weapons, which are placed on intercontinental ballistic missiles. Russia has a big arsenal of tactical weapons; The United States holds relatively little. Small nuclear weapons were designed produce quite small an explosion that sometimes blurs the distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons.

Mr. Burns also claimed that disclosure of Mr Putin intentions by US intelligence officials before the outbreak of the war was made it’s harder for Mr Putin to cover up the ‘gross brutality’ his forces used in Ukraine, reminds of damage inflicted by Russian troops in Chechnya in 1990s.

“I watched over years as Putin languished in combustible combination of discontent, ambition and uncertainty,” said Mr. Burns. He said that the Russian president cherishes grievances against West for decades, convinced the United States took advantage of The weakness of Russia after the collapse of Soviet Union.

President Biden and his national Security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday acknowledged that the White House is discussing sending a senior official to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in a show of support for in government of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Prime Minister Boris Johnson of UK recently took a secret Trip to Kyiv by train.

Mr. Sullivan said the White House briefly considered leaving Mr. Biden for Ukraine, but since soon how did it become clear “which of trace that will require what kind of assets it would require the Ukrainians as well as the US” to ensure his safety, this idea was rejected.

When you press on says that he, the secretary of Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken or Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III may go to Kyiv, Mr. Sullivan declined discuss it by saying that “if and when this happens, we want make sure ready in very safe way”. Mr Biden told reporters no decision was made send an envoy.

Mr. Sullivan also said that in The United States will announce a crackdown in the coming days on countries and companies violating Western sanctions on Moscow entered from invasion started in end of February.

Department of Commerce on On Thursday, 10 aircraft were identified that flew to Belarus or were operated by it. with obvious intent of registering them in Russia. The sanctions would prevent aircraft from being serviced or refueled internationally, effectively bringing them to a halt.

Mr. Sullivan made similar vow hack down on offenders just forthcoming of Biden’s trip to Brussels and Warsaw last month. But on Thursday, performance at the Economic Club of Washington, he said that, in his opinion, some of sanctions – especially exports controls on defense technology – began to damage Russia military readiness.

“Russian ability re-equip and replenish,” he said, set back because many of his systems “rely on Western microcircuits and components.

“They’re running out of stock of some of elite weapons,” Mr. Sullivan said. added, although he acknowledged that the ongoing purchase of natural gas from Russia helped finance the war.

“I’m not sitting here assuming we starved them like that of those resources that they literally cannot put up with the army and continue to try to make progress on in battlefieldMr Sullivan said. But he said Washington is making a move up an effort help Europe is getting out of hand off Russian gas by supply of liquefied natural gas from the USA.

But Mr Sullivan also pointed out that so far he has not seen any evidence that China is advancing in to help Mr Putin with or military or financial to help. His statement was notable because Mr. Biden, in a call with Chairman Xi Jinping of China warned of US fines four weeks ago should China is helping the war effort. But the evidence since then suggests that, despite Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi in February that their relationship “has no boundaries”, China in fact apparently of mixed views on how lot support war.

Mr. Burns and Mr. Sullivan admitted that the war was moving to new phase now that Russia seems to have narrowed its goal down to capturing the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting since 2014.

General Philip Breedlove former Allied Supreme Commander in Europe, who now retired, said on Thursday that while Mr Putin might be able to present his narrower activities as a win, the war would be a loss for Russia in for a long time term.

“Ukraine will continue to try fight what am I call American Revolutionary War againskirmishes, counterattacks and ambushes,” said General Breedlove. “This is just it will be much more difficult for them.”

By moving his forces to the east, Mr. Putin hopes move war with more favorable territory, trying to make it more difficult for Ukrainian forces adhere with those tactics. “Now they’re ready fight the war they really wantsaid General Breedlove. “They are want meet force on force in open fields.

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