By John Ikani
CIA Director William Burns has said Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine could be just as dangerous as its failed first offensive north of Kyiv.
Speaking at an event in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Financial Times, Burns said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “in a frame of mind that he thinks he cannot afford to lose, so the stakes are quite high in this phase.”
The intelligence chief went on to note that he does not think that Putin has been deterred by the huge amount of Western military support for Ukraine and the resolve of Ukraine’s population and its military.
“I don’t think this means that, you know, Putin is deterred at this point, because he staked so much on the choice that he made to launch this invasion that I think he’s convinced right now that doubling down still will enable him to make progress,” he said.
Burns called Putin’s invasion a “profound mistake.”
“It was Putin’s biggest mistake in planning for this invasion,” he said. “And then in launching it, don’t underestimate Ukrainians. And I think it’s equally a mistake for any of us to underestimate what they bring to the table in intelligence terms in defending their own country.”
No fewer than 3,153 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country February 24 according to the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights.
The U.N. office noted that the true civilian death toll is likely “considerably higher” due to the difficulty in confirming reports from heavily besieged regions, and Ukrainian authorities have estimated thousands of more civilians have died as a result of the war.
On 25 March Russia’s defence ministry said that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed and 3,825 wounded since Moscow launched what it calls its “special operation” in Ukraine on 24 February.
However, a report at the end of April suggested the figure could be as many as 25,900, according to a call intercepted by Kyiv.
On its part, the British government have put the death toll of Russian soldiers at 15,000.
