CIA chief rejects Russia’s preparations to use nukes, opens up on Kyiv's counteroffensive

CIA Director William Burns, at the Aspen Security Forum, stated that the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has not observed any indications of Russia's readiness to deploy nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

"We do not see today any concrete preparations for the potential use of nuclear weapons," he said, adding that "the nuclear saber rattling <…> is reckless and deeply irresponsible."

In late September 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted that Russia has explicitly outlined all scenarios in its military doctrine where the potential use of nuclear weapons may arise.

'Offense is a lot harder than defense', says Burns

Burns expressed no surprise at the slow advancement of the Ukrainian armed forces' counteroffensive.

"I don't think it should come as a surprise to anyone that the counteroffensive is a hard slog. Offense is a lot harder than defense," he said, when asked to comment on the pace of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

"The Russians have had months to prepare not only fixed defenses in Southeast Asia, in southern Ukraine, but also quite thick and extensive fields as well. So it's going to take time and it's not going to be easy to make progress," the CIA chief added.

According to an earlier report from the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian military has been making offensive attempts since June 4. On July 11, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu revealed that the Ukrainian army's casualties had surpassed 26,000 since the commencement of their counteroffensive. Additionally, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised that Ukrainian forces had not achieved any progress in any of the frontline regions.

Wagner mutiny 'a major black eye for Putin': Burns

According to Burns, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the mercenary Wagner Group, led a daylong mutiny with the primary objective of targeting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and top Russian General Valery Gerasimov. Prigozhin had publicly expressed criticism towards these officials and emphasized that his intentions were not directed at President Putin.

The fact that Wagner forces could traverse a significant portion of Russia without hindrance was a significant embarrassment for Putin, said Burns. Additionally, Prigozhin's open criticism of the reasons behind the Russian war on Ukraine and the corruption within the Russian elite further exacerbated the situation and added to Putin's troubles.

“I think in many ways it exposed some of the significant weaknesses in a system that Putin has built,” Burns said. Even aside from the mutiny, such weaknesses “were exposed by Putin’s misjudgment since he launched this invasion” of Ukraine.