2022-09-09T17:13:00+03:00 Politics 2024-09-15T06:44:25+03:00

Ukrainian news

CIA Director Calls Russian "Special Operation" In Ukraine Failure

CIA Director Calls Russian "Special Operation" In Ukraine Failure

Six months into a very harsh war, Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive, and Russia's invasion can only be considered a failure, said William Burns, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It is reported by The New York Times on Friday, September 8.

Burns said Russian President Vladimir Putin greatly underestimated Ukraine's courage and ability to fight, proof of which is Ukrainian counterattacks in the south, around Kharkiv and the northeast.

While the final chapter of the war is yet to be written, Mr. Burns said it was “hard to see Putin’s record in the war as anything but a failure,” the media reports.

“Putin’s bet right now is that he is going to be tougher than the Ukrainians, the Europeans, the Americans. I believe, and my colleagues at CIA believe, that Putin is as wrong about that bet as he was profoundly wrong in his assumptions going back to last February about Ukrainian will to resist,” the CIA director emphasized.

Putin was surrounded by advisers who did not want to challenge him, because of this, the Russian leader mistakenly believed that European resolve would falter, and the American attention would disappear, the longer the conflict dragged on, which led to such profound negative consequences for him, Burns said. The CIA director stressed that not only was the weakness of the Russian army, but also long-term damage to the Russian economy and generations of Russians.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on September 9, the General Staff first announced a counter-offensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kharkiv region.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated more than 20 settlements in Kharkiv region.

Analysts believe that the Ukrainian military may release Kupyansk in Kharkiv region within the next 72 hours.