Washington: Russian President Vladimir Putin is in all likelihood preparing for a long war in Ukraine, US intelligence has warned, BBC reported on Wednesday.
The warning by the Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, comes as fierce fighting continues in the east, where Russia is trying to take territory, adding that even victory in the east could not potentially end the conflict.
Moscow has now refocussed its attention on capturing the Donbas region after Ukraine fiercely resisted attempts by it to take its capital Kyiv.
Haines told a US Senate committee hearing on Tuesday that President Putin was still intending "to achieve goals beyond the Donbas", but that he "faces a mismatch between his ambitions and Russia's current conventional military capabilities", adding that the Russian president was "probably" counting on US and EU support for Ukraine to weaken as inflation, food shortages and energy prices got worse.
She further warned that this could lead the Russian president to turn to "more drastic means" as the war continues, adding that Moscow would only resort to using nuclear weapons if President Putin perceives an "existential threat" to Russia.
Defence Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier told in the same hearing that the war has now reached a certain degree of stalemate. (UNI)