© Graeme Jennings
US national intelligence adviser Avril Haines at a congressional hearing in Washington on April 14, 2021. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin underestimated the Ukrainian resistance when he launched his invasion, in a conflict that has likely cost the lives of thousands of Russian soldiers, top intelligence adviser to President Joe Putin said Tuesday. Biden.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a congressional hearing that, in the US view, Putin is “humiliated” by his failure to quickly subdue Ukraine and now believes he has no choice but to win the war. . But what Putin considers a victory could change as the costs to Russia rise, Haines said.
Despite Putin’s announcement that Russia would raise its nuclear alert level, the United States has not detected any change in Russia’s nuclear forces, the official added.
Haines said it is “unclear at this point” whether Russia will try to conquer the whole of Ukraine, something that would require more resources than Putin has already invested in the offensive.