United States intelligence agencies believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants to take the majority of Ukraine.
However, due to the combat-related weakness of Moscow’s forces, US authorities estimate that they are only capable of making small territorial gains.
According to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, it indicates that the war may drag on for a while.
After failing to capture Kiev and other towns, Moscow refocused its efforts on capturing the Donbas region of Ukraine in March.
According to Ms. Haines, the US’s senior intelligence official, Mr. Putin still wants to annex the majority of Ukraine, the same objectives he had at the outset of the conflict.
She claims that Russia won’t likely be able to accomplish that goal very soon.
She said at a US Commerce Department conference, “We sense a divergence between Putin’s near-term military aims in this area and his military’s capacity, a type of mismatch between his ambitions and what the military is able to accomplish.
Since failing to take Kyiv, Russia has concentrated on annexing the eastern Donbas region, a sizable industrial area where Mr. Putin incorrectly asserts that Ukraine has committed genocide against Russian speakers.
The city of Severodonetsk was just taken over by Russian forces, but progress has been gradual and Ukrainian soldiers have put up fierce resistance.
Ms. Haines warned that the Russian invasion would drag on “for an extended period of time’ and that “the situation remains quite gloomy” in her first remarks made in public on the war since May.
She claimed that there are three possible outcomes for the war, with the slow-moving fight with Russia gaining “incremental progress, without a breakthrough,” being the most likely.
Other, less plausible scenarios include a significant Russian victory or a stabilization of the front lines with modest Ukrainian gains.
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It might imply that Moscow relies more on “asymmetric instruments” to take out its adversaries, including cyberattacks, initiatives to manage energy supplies, and even nuclear weapons.
After pledging to support Ukraine for however long it takes, Nato leaders made their remarks on Wednesday. They also increased their force presence around Europe and extended an invitation to Finland and Sweden to join the alliance.
US President Joe Biden promised that Nato would be “strengthened in all directions in every domain – land, air, and sea.” Nato leader Jens Stoltenberg dubbed it the alliance’s largest reform since the end of the Cold War.
In response to the prospect of the two Nordic nations joining NATO, Mr. Putin charged that the military alliance was purposefully inflaming relations.
On a visit to Turkmenistan, Mr. Putin declared, [Russia] will be forced to respond if Nato troops and facilities are placed.
In the meantime, the UK government will provide Ukraine with another £1 billion ($1.2 billion) in military aid, nearly doubling its previous contributions.
The UK hasn’t given Ukraine any more military assistance than the US has.
According to Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, his nation requires almost $5 billion (£4.12 billion) per month to finance the conflict with Russia.
