Vladimir Putin might resort to extreme measures to ensure Russia wins in the end, top U.S. spies warned Tuesday.
Putin would seize on to mobilize more troops for the war. Victory Day came and went without any public mobilization, however.
But Russians are starting to see signs that Putin might be secretly putting in the legwork to pull in more resources to make the war effort function beyond the near term, just as Haines is warning Putin has his sights set on doubling down.
Haines confirmed Tuesday the Russian government has indeed pulled Wagner in for operations in Ukraine. “We do see Wagner being used in ... Ukraine. We see that,” Haines said. “Russia deployed them effectively in Ukraine.” The U.S. intelligence community’s assessment that Putin intends the war to last for some time could spell disaster ahead. Putin could become more likely to make a miscalculation and resort to using nuclear weapons, Haines warned.
Putin would only “authorize the use of nuclear weapons if he perceived an existential threat to the Russian state,” she said, adding that “with tensions this high there is always an enhanced potential for miscalculation—unintended escalation.”READ THIS LIST
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