Putin Still Believes He Can Grind Down Ukraine and the West – CIA Director

William Burns, CIA Director, has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "not serious about negotiations" to end the war in Ukraine.

As CNN reports, Burns speaking publicly at Rice University, stated that Putin still believes he "can grind down Ukraine and the West." "Instead of backing down, he has doubled down," the CIA chief said of Putin.

According to him, it is "Ukrainian progress on the battlefield that is most likely to shape prospects for diplomacy" to end the war unleashed by Russia.

Burns emphasised the importance of Ukraine's planned counteroffensive, saying that "a great deal is at stake in the coming months."

"Real countries fight back," Burns noted, adding that "Putin was profoundly mistaken" in his assumptions about Ukraine before the war.

Burns underlined the importance of continued US support for Ukraine, including through intelligence sharing, at a time when the leaked classified documents are raising questions about the administration's view of the conflict.

The US State Department claims that the incident with the publication of secret documents of the US Department of Defense will not affect support for Ukraine in its war with Russia (Ukr).

The US Justice Department opens criminal investigation into leaked Pentagon documents involving "highly classified material". As reported, the investigation into the leak could take months (Ukr).