Putin still wants the majority of Ukraine war outlook grim says U.S. intelligence chief

• Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence, stated that the consensus among American spy agencies 
• “Haines said at a seminar sponsored by the Commerce Department, “In short, the situation remains quite dismal 
• Volodymyr Zelinskiy expressed his desire for the war to be concluded by the G7 leaders and US Vice President Joe Biden at the end of the year.

The majority of Ukraine is still in the sights of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but given how badly their forces have been worn down by battle, they are expected to make only slight progress in the foreseeable future, according to the top American intelligence official on Wednesday.

Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence, stated that the consensus among American spy agencies is that the more than four-month-old conflict will rage on “for an extended period of time.”

Haines said at a seminar sponsored by the Commerce Department, “In short, the situation remains quite dismal and Russia’s stance toward the West is hardening.

This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy expressed his desire for the war to be concluded by the G7 leaders and US Vice President Joe Biden at the end of the year.

Haines’ remarks, however, gave the impression that Zelinskiy’s forces might not soon be able to turn the tide against Russia despite the fact that the United States and other nations are providing them with modern weapons worth billions of dollars.

Despite Ukrainian forces repelling Moscow’s effort to occupy Kyiv in February and forcing Moscow to change its target to capturing the entire eastern Donbas region, she claimed that Putin still intends to annex the majority of Ukraine.

We believe he wants to annex much of Ukraine, which is the same political objectives we previously held, according to Haines.

Haines said in her first public assessment of the conflict since May that the Russian forces, however, have been so weakened by more than four months of fighting that it is unlikely they can accomplish Putin’s goal anytime soon.

“We detect a mismatch between Putin’s ambitions and what the military can achieve, a type of mismatch between his near-term military aims in this area and his military’s capability,” she said.

According to Haines, three scenarios are possible, with the most likely one being a protracted battle in which Russian forces “make incremental gains, with no breather.”

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