The head of the US military intelligence service, on Vladimir Putin: He cannot achieve his initial objective in Ukraine

Russia’s failures and limited resources in Ukraine show that Russian forces are unable to achieve the initial goals of President Vladimir Putin, the head of the Pentagon’s intelligence services claims, according to ABC News, which cites the AP.

“We’re getting to a point where I think Putin is going to have to review his goals for this operation,” said Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

“It’s pretty clear at this point that he’s not going to be able to do what he originally intended,” he stated.

Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February to topple Ukraine’s pro-Western government, according to US officials.

Ukrainian forces drove Russian troops from their positions around the capital Kyiv at the start of the war.

Russia also suffered another major setback last week, when a Ukrainian counteroffensive forced Russian troops to withdraw from northeastern Ukraine.

“Russia had planned an occupation, not necessarily an invasion, and that threw it back,” said Berrier.

President Joe Biden and other administration officials in Washington have been careful not to call the latest withdrawal of Russian forces a Ukrainian victory or a turning point in the war.

Analysts warn that it is impossible to assess what comes next.

“It’s nearing the point of making a decision,” Berrier said, referring to Putin.

“We don’t know what that decision will be. But it will largely decide the duration of this conflict.” he considers.

Asked about fears that Putin might resort to weapons of mass destruction if defeated on the battlefield by U.S. and NATO-backed Ukrainian forces, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said: “I don’t think we should underestimate Putin’s attachment to the initial program, which is to control Ukraine. I don’t think we saw any reason to believe that he gave up on this goal.”

Also, the US should not underestimate either “risk appetite” Putin’s, Cohen said.

Putin and his officials alluded at the start of the war to Russia’s nuclear arsenal and massive retaliation, warning NATO not to get involved in the conflict.

“That being said, I have seen no concrete evidence of planning to use WMD.”Cohen said.

The most likely form of Russian reprisals against the US could be the multiplication of attempts to interfere in the American political system, according to officials from the US secret services, quoted by Agerpres.

Vladimir Putin comes with new threats

Separately, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, which ended Friday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Putin warned that Moscow could step up its attacks in Ukraine.

Putin stated that “release” of the entire area of ​​Donbas, in the east of Ukraine, is Russia’s main military objective and it does not consider it necessary to revise it.