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© Reuters. A web site of a purchasing centre destroyed by shelling is pictured amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine, Might 10, 2022. REUTERS/Igor Tkachenko
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By Patricia Zengerle, Idrees Ali and Doina Chiacu
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Russia’s three-month-long battle in Ukraine is at a “little bit of a stalemate” and Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be making ready for a protracted battle, high U.S. intelligence officers stated on Tuesday.
Russia, which calls the invasion “a particular army operation,” poured extra troops into Ukraine for an enormous offensive final month within the jap a part of the nation however its features have been gradual.
Russia’s assault on Kyiv was overwhelmed again in March by sturdy Ukrainian resistance.
“The Russians aren’t profitable and the Ukrainians aren’t profitable and we’re at a little bit of a stalemate right here,” Lieutenant Common Scott Berrier, the pinnacle of the Protection Intelligence Company, stated earlier than the Senate Armed Companies Committee.
He added that thus far, between eight and 10 Russian generals have been killed within the lethal battle.
Russia’s battle has killed hundreds of civilians, despatched tens of millions of Ukrainians fleeing and decreased cities to rubble. Moscow has little to indicate for it past a strip of territory within the south and marginal features within the east.
President Vladimir Putin exhorted Russians to battle in a defiant Victory Day speech on Monday however was silent about plans for any escalation in Ukraine regardless of Western warnings that he may use his Pink Sq. deal with to order a mobilization.
Throughout the identical listening to, Director of Nationwide Intelligence Avril Haines stated {that a} Russian victory within the Donbas area in jap Ukraine may not finish the battle.
“We assess President Putin is making ready for a chronic battle in Ukraine throughout which he nonetheless intends to attain targets past the Donbas,” Haines informed lawmakers.
She added that Putin was relying on the Western resolve to weaken over time and because the battle continued, there was concern about how it could develop within the coming months.
“Mixed with the fact that Putin faces a mismatch between his ambitions and Russia’s present standard army capabilities … the following few months might see us transferring alongside a extra unpredictable and probably escalatory trajectory,” Haines stated.
TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Western concern on the threat of nuclear battle elevated after Putin launched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 with a speech by which he pointedly referred to Moscow’s nuclear forces and warned that any try and get in Russia’s manner “will lead you to such penalties that you’ve by no means encountered in your historical past.”
Russia stated final month that it plans to deploy its newly examined Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, able to mounting nuclear strikes in opposition to the USA, by autumn.
Requested concerning the prospect of Putin utilizing tactical nuclear weapons, Berrier stated: “Proper now, we don’t see that.”
Haines stated earlier that the intelligence neighborhood believes Putin would authorize the usage of nuclear weapons provided that he perceived an existential risk to the Russian state.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday stated he’s nervous that Putin doesn’t have a manner out of the Ukraine battle, and Biden stated he was making an attempt to determine what to do about that.
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