Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warns Vladimir Putin may take extreme steps to win Ukraine War

The US intelligence community has assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to engage in the war in Ukraine and let it drag on for some time — and along the way, Putin could start using extreme measures to ensure Russia’s final victory, top US spies warned on Tuesday.

Next steps Putin could take could include escalating domestic measures that could contribute to the war effort, such as martial law, said US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines warned in a meeting on Tuesday.

“The uncertain nature of the battle … combined with the fact that Putin faces a mismatch between his ambitions and Russia’s current conventional military capabilities could be months away. . [be] DNI Haines told the senators. “Current trends raise the possibility that President Putin will use more drastic measures, including the imposition of martial law, reorientation of industrial production or potentially escalatory military actions to solve the problem.” release the resources necessary to achieve its goals as the conflict drags on.”

The assessment, which Haines delivered to lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its 76th day. Russian forces have turned their attentions to occupying eastern Ukraine in the past weeks. recently after a failed attempt to capture the capital Kyiv in the early days of the war due to a series of logistical and planning problems.

And as the Russian military turns its attention to the Donbas, or eastern regions of Ukraine, the fighting is beginning to come to a somewhat “stalemate,” said Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Scott Berrier. , said Tuesday.

“I would describe it as the Russians didn’t win, and the Ukrainians didn’t win, and we’re in a bit of a stalemate here,” Berrier said.

Haines warned Putin not to see Donbas as the last stand in Ukraine, suggesting there could be more carnage. This is just a “temporary” focus for the Russian military to “regain the initiative”, Haines said.

“We do not believe that the war in Donbas will effectively end the war,” Haines said. “We assess that President Putin is preparing for a protracted conflict in Ukraine, in which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas.”

The assessment that Putin could escalate comes a day after Victory Day in Russia, when Russians celebrate victory in World War Two – a day in which US and Ukrainian officials both warn Putin will keep mobilizing. More troops for the battle. However, Victory Day came and went without any mass mobilization.

But the Russians are beginning to see signs that Putin may be secretly taking actions to attract more resources to make the war effort work in the near future, just as Haines is doing. warned Putin was setting his sights down doubly. In recent days, Moscow Metro employees have been threatened that they could be sent to war “if there are not enough soldiers to be sent to “special operations”, “one of the wives of staff told the Conscience Alliance Against Conscription in Russia and Verstka.media, using a term Russia has used to describe the war in Ukraine.

“At a meeting at the subway depot… all the men were asked to undergo an abnormal medical examination that could lead to the war in Ukraine later on,” she said, adding that if they did not comply, they would could be fired or face criminal charges. “It has been stated precisely and unequivocally that the leadership has an obligation to allocate a certain number of people who can be sent to war.”

The Daily Beast has not independently verified the claims.

Russia lost tens of thousands of troops in the invasion and for weeks was looking for alternative human resources. The Wall Street Journal reports that Russia is looking in Syria to buy more fighter jets and the Russian Defense Minister said Russia is also recruiting 16,000 people from the Middle East to fight in Ukraine.

Members of Congress have questioned the US intelligence community for weeks now about whether the Kremlin is exploiting mercenaries working for a private Russian contractor called the Wagner Group.

Haines confirmed on Tuesday that the Russian government had indeed pulled Wagner into operation in Ukraine. “We see Wagner being used to influence Ukraine. We see that,” Haines said. “Russia has effectively deployed them in Ukraine.”

The assessment by the US intelligence community that Putin intends the war to drag on for a while could sow disaster ahead. Mr. Haines warned that Putin could miscalculate and use nuclear weapons.

Putin will only “authorize the use of nuclear weapons if he perceives an existential threat to the Russian state,” she said, adding that “with tensions this high, there is always the possibility of a miscalculation – unintended escalation”.

“There is no… the possibility of Putin using a nuclear weapon is imminent,” Haines clarified.