According to CIA chief Bill Burns, Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue to push the war in Ukraine. Burns was quoted as saying by the Financial Times on Saturday that Putin is in a state where he doesn’t think he can afford to lose. The CIA chief spoke in Washington at an event organized by the newspaper.
According to Burns, Putin is convinced that with even more effort, progress can be made. The east and south-east of Ukraine are particularly hard-fought. Many people are eagerly awaiting Putin’s speech at the annual military parade on May 9 in Moscow.
Image: Jacquelyn Martin/AP/dpa/Archive
The CIA director also said that US intelligence agencies see no practical evidence that Russia is planning to use tactical nuclear weapons. However, this possibility should not be taken lightly. Tactical nuclear weapons or nuclear battlefield weapons are understood to be nuclear weapons whose radius of action and explosive power is significantly lower than strategic nuclear weapons that can be used beyond a continent.
According to Burns, the war in Ukraine has also unsettled China’s President Xi Jinping. On the one hand, this is due to the damage to China’s reputation caused by the brutality of Russian aggression once morest the Ukrainians, the newspaper continued, citing the CIA chief. Other points are the economic insecurity caused by the war and the close ties between the West and the West.
According to Burns, the Chinese leadership is examining what lessons it should draw for Taiwan. But he doesn’t think their determination to take control of Taiwan has waned. China regards democratic Taiwan as its own territory.
