U.S. spy chiefs say Putin may escalate despite Ukraine setbacks

I think Putin is angry and frustrated right now

Leaders of U.S. spy agencies said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin may intensify the assault on Ukraine despite military setbacks and economic hardships resulting from international sanctions, setting up "an ugly next few weeks."

"Our analysts assess that Putin is unlikely to be deterred by such setbacks and instead may escalate," Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the annual House of Representatives Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, where she testified with other intelligence agency directors.

With tensions so high, there is always the potential for "unintended escalation," Haines said.

Haines said Putin's announcement that he was elevating his nuclear forces' readiness was unusual, but that intelligence analysts had not observed changes in Russia's nuclear posture beyond what was detected during previous international crises.

"We also have not observed force-wide nuclear posture changes that go beyond what we've seen in prior moments of heightened tensions," Haines said.

"I think Putin is angry and frustrated right now. He's likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties," Burns said.

Burns said he and CIA analysts do not see how Putin can accomplish his goal of taking Kyiv and replacing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government with a pro-Moscow or puppet leadership.