CIA director briefed Zelenskyy on US expectations

• CIA Director briefed Volodymyr Zelenskyy on US expectations.
• To negotiate future military shipments to Ukraine, Western defense leaders will meet.
• Ukraine has persisted in pressing the US and its Western allies for further help.

CIA Director Bill Burns briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv last week on the US expectations for Russia’s military preparations in the spring, according to a US official and two Ukrainian sources familiar with the discussion.

The covert meeting takes place as US officials closely monitor a potential Russian invasion in the coming months and amid a contentious discussion over whether to deploy increasingly advanced and long-range weaponry to Ukraine.

To negotiate future military shipments to Ukraine, Western defense leaders will meet on Friday.

“Director Burns traveled to Kyiv where he met with Ukrainian intelligence counterparts as well as President Zelenskyy and reinforced our continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression,” a US official said in a statement.

Burns, a seasoned diplomat, has established himself in Kyiv as a reliable source, and last week’s visit was not his first.

In October and November of last year, he made two public trips back-to-back to Kiev, one of which coincided with a wave of Russian missile strikes across the nation.

During the winter, there has been fierce combat on the front lines, notably in the area of Bakhmut, although neither side has made any significant strategic advances.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Davos World Economic Forum, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines described it as “not a stalemate but truly a grinding struggle at this stage.”

However, it is believed that both sides are preparing for possible spring offensives, and Kyiv has persisted in pressing the United States and its Western allies for further assistance in its campaign to defeat Russia.

One Ukrainian source made it clear to Media that Kyiv is worried about the rate at which weapons are being sent to the country.

This worry is growing since the US House of Representatives is dominated by Republicans, some of whom are dubious of help to Ukraine.

The second-largest security package ever announced by the United States was a $2.5 billion one from the Pentagon on Thursday.

The assistance includes more Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker combat vehicles for the first time.

However, there is still a standoff between the Biden administration and Germany over whether to send tanks to Ukraine.

German officials have recently made it clear that they will not send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine or allow any other nation that has the German-made tanks in their arsenal to do so unless the US also agrees to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv.

Given the logistical expenses of maintaining them, the Pentagon has been adamant for months that it has no intention of doing so.

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