This is what US intelligence thinks about the possibility of Putin using nuclear weapons

The Russian President, Vladimir Putindoes not intend to end the war of Ukraine with the Donbas campaign and wants to extend it into Transnistria, a region of Moldova that broke away in 1990, US intelligence director Avril Haines said on Tuesday.

“We believe that the president Putin is preparing for a long conflict in Ukraineduring which he still intends to achieve goals beyond Donbas”, declared Haines before Congress.

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US intelligence services believe that the Russian military wants to “extend the land bridge (in southern Ukraine) to Transnistria,” he added.

It is “possible” that the Russian forces will achieve this goal in the coming months, but “they will not be able to reach Transnistria and include Odessa without decreeing a form of general mobilization”he added.

US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines testifies about global threats during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. (SAUL LOEB / AFP).

Putin “is probably counting on a weakening of the determination of the United States and the European Union, when food shortages become more acute and energy prices rise,” he warned.

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The ambitions of Putin they exceed the capabilities of the Russian military and that “likely means that in the coming months we will evolve along a more unpredictable trajectory and potentially an escalation,” Haines added.

“The current trend increases the chances that the president Putin resort to more drastic measures, including the establishment of martial law, the reorientation of industrial production or a possible military escalation to release the necessary resources to achieve its objectives,” he said.

“We continue to believe that President Putin will only authorize the use of nuclear weapons if he perceives an existential threat to the Russian state or regime,” he added.

However, the Russian president could resort to them “if he thinks he is losing the war in Ukraine and NATO intervenes or prepares to intervene”, accurate. But, even in this hypothesis, “it is likely to send signals” before doing so, he said. avril haines.

Source: Elcomercio