CIA Director Burns reaffirms US' support to Ukraine in a secret meet with Zelenskyy

CIA director William J. Burns visited Ukrainian President Zelenskyy earlier this month to reaffirm US' support to Ukraine in the war against Russia, according to sources in the US government mentioned in a CNN report. The CIA director, "reinforced the US commitment to provide support to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, including continued intelligence sharing,” said the US government official. The CIA director's visit comes at a time when Russia is using armed drones to target Ukraine's critical infrastructure in the Russia-Ukraine war.  

The CIA director's visit also comes at a time when there are protests in France and Germany over rising energy costs and the general populace is beginning to consider why they should suffer the brunt of high energy costs, that too during winter, to fund Ukraine's war. Ukraine is largely dependent on western military aid, primarily from the US, to continue its war effort against Russia. There are concerns about US support for Ukraine as well because the mid terms in the US are nearing and Republican Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, has suggested that the US should not keep supporting Ukraine endlessly. Until now, arming Ukraine and not going for peace talks has been a bipartisan consensus in the US but as per a report by the Wall Street Journal, Kevin McCarthy's statements indicate that the bipartisan consensus might end. 

CIA and William J. Burns' past

According to the CIA's official website, the goal of the clandestine agency is to "collect and analyse foreign intelligence and conduct covert action. U.S. policymakers, including the President of the United States, make policy decisions informed by the information we provide." In September, speaking at a conference organised by the Aspen Institute, William J. Burns said that Russian President Vladimir Putin miscalculated and that Moscow has failed in its invasion of Ukraine. The CIA was originally started as OSS i.e. Office of Strategic Services in the midst of the 2nd World War. The current director of the CIA is the son of Major-General William F Burns, who was a director of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency under the Reagan administration. William J. Burns is an old Russian hand who served in Moscow during the 1990s and later again as US ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008. During his time, Burn's repeatedly warned that NATO's eastward expansion was a redline for Moscow.