At a US congressional hearing on Tuesday, the CIA director sketched a portrait of the Russian president, a “disillusioned” man who “is trying to crush the Ukrainian army without worrying about civilian casualties.”
US intelligence described Russian President Vladimir Putin as increasingly isolated, “disappointed” and “angry” over the situation in Ukraine on Tuesday during a US congressional hearing.
“I think Putin is angry and upset right now. He will probably redouble his efforts and try to crush the Ukrainian army, regardless of civilian casualties,” said CIA Director William Burns.
“We believe that Putin is suffering from a disrespectful attitude towards him from the West,” the head of US intelligence, Avril Haynes, said at the same hearing. “He feels like this is a war he can’t afford to lose,” she said. “But what he may take for a win may change over time.”
An “increasingly narrow” circle of advisers
The invasion of Ukraine was the result of a “deep personal conviction” for the Russian president, the CIA director also assured, the Russian president, in his words, “had for years an explosive mixture of resentment and ambition.”
The CIA director also referred to a “system” created by the Russian president in which his own circle of advisers is “increasingly shrinking”, a trend accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s a system where it’s generally not good for people’s careers to question or challenge their judgment,” he said.