CIA Chief avers Putin's invasion of Kyiv a 'failure', exposes 'weakness' of Russian troops

As the brutal conflict between Russia and Ukraine goes unabated, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William J. Burns, asserted that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine can be seen as a "complete failure". This remark comes at a time when Ukrainian forces continue to battle against Kremlin troops in the northeast of the country. Burns said Russia badly underestimated Ukraine's courage and capacity for combat, reported The New York Times.

The CIA chief noted that as the conflict continues and final chapters are yet to be written, it is "hard to see Putin’s record in the war as anything but a failure." He further stated that the Kremlin leader was surrounded by people who are unwilling to question his decision of launching war against neighboring Ukraine, the report said.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine 'already a failure': CIA Chief

"Putin’s bet right now is that he is going to be tougher than the Ukrainians, the Europeans, and the Americans," said Burns, speaking at the Billington CyberSecurity Conference in Washington. "I believe, and my colleagues at C.I.A. believe, that Putin is as wrong about that bet as he was profoundly wrong in his assumptions going back to last February about the Ukrainian will to resist." That has had profound consequences, he added.

"Not only has the weakness of the Russian military been exposed," he said, "but there is going to be long-term damage done to the Russian economy and to generations of Russians."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have made significant progress in the ongoing war, pushing back Russian troops from a number of places, including the Kharkiv region. In a night video address, embattled President Zelenskyy confirmed that his forces had managed to take back over 1,000 sq km of territory from the Russians since the beginning of this month. "Our heroes have already liberated dozens of settlements. And today this movement continued; there are new results," he said.

Recently, reports emerged that a Russian-installed official in the occupied region of Kharkiv admitted that Russian troops were falling weak against Ukrainian troops. "The very fact of a breach of our defences is already a substantial victory for the Ukrainian armed forces," Vitaly Ganchev told state television, according to Daily Mail.

Image: AP