Six months later, the very difficult period of the war, Ukraine began to go on a counterattack, and the Russian invasion can be considered only as a failure. This was stated by CIA Director William Burns, reports The New York Times.
Speaking of a counterattack in the south of Ukraine and around Kharkov, Burns said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “greatly underestimated the courage and combat effectiveness of Ukraine.” Although the last chapter of the war has not yet been written, Burns said that “it is difficult to consider Putin’s track record in war as something else except failure.”
The head of the CIA explains this by the fact that the Russian president “was surrounded by advisers who did not want to challenge him, and that the Russian leader mistakenly believed that the longer the conflict would continue, the determination of Europe would be shaken, and America would be scattered.” “Now Putin is betting that he will be tougher than Ukrainians, Europeans and Americans. I believe, my colleagues from the CIA believe that Putin is as mistaken in relation to this bet as he was deeply wrong in his assumptions made Back in February last year, ”said the head of intelligence.
This new miscalculation, according to Burns, will have far -reaching consequences, since “not only shows the weakness of the Russian army, but also guarantees long -term damage to the Russian economy and generations of Russians.”