Russia’s war in Ukraine is at a “stalemate” and Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be preparing for a protracted conflict, senior US intelligence officials said on Tuesday.
RussiaCalling the invasion a “special military operation,” it sent more troops into Ukraine for a major offensive last month in the eastern part of the country, but progress has been slow.
A Russian assault on Kyiv it had failed in March because of the Ukrainian resistance.
“The Russians are not winning, the Ukrainians are not winning, and we are at an impasse,” Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Berrier added that eight to 10 Russian generals have been killed so far.
The spokesman for PentagonJohn Kirby said that while Russia had not made much progress at Donbas, its troops were making gradual progress.
The war it has claimed thousands of civilian lives, put millions of Ukrainians to flight and reduced cities to rubble. Moscow has little to show for it beyond a strip of territory in the south and marginal gains in the east.
Putin urged Russians to fight back in a defiant Victory Day speech on Monday, but remained silent on plans for any escalation in Ukraine, despite Western warnings that he could use his Red Square speech to order a mobilization. .
During the same hearing, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said a Russian victory in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine might not end the war.
“We assess that President Putin is preparing for a protracted conflict in Ukraine during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the DombasHaines told lawmakers.
The United States has indications that Russia wants to extend a land bridge to the breakaway region of moldovaTransdniestria, he added.
“Combined with the reality that Putin is facing a mismatch between his ambitions and Russia’s current conventional military capabilities … the coming months could see us moving down a more unpredictable and potentially escalating trajectory,” Haines said.
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