National Intelligence Chief Haines: Russia's use of nuclear weapons is unlikely Russia, despite the depletion of its ground forces due to the special operation in Ukraine, remains a "powerful military force," stated US Lieutenant General Scott Berrier.
At the same time, Moscow will not use nuclear weapons, according to national intelligence. And Ukraine will not be able to resist Russia without the help of the West. These and other theses were made at a meeting in the Senate Armed Services Committee. Details are in the material of "Gazeta.Ru".
Director of US National Intelligence Evril Haines and Director of the Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (RUMO) US Army Lieutenant General Scott Berrier believes that Russia continues to be a "powerful military force" and pose a "nuclear threat" to their country.
The broadcast of the meeting of representatives of the American national intelligence was conducted on Youtube.
"Despite the fact that their ground forces are currently depleted [due to the special operation in Ukraine], they will quickly rebuild them," Berrier said. He estimated the recovery time at 5-10 years.
According to the Lieutenant General, during the special operation, the Aerospace Forces (VKS), the Navy (Navy), as well as strategic forces and forces for conducting operations in cyberspace are practically not used.
The head of the US National Intelligence Service stressed that even during periods of escalation of tension, the channels of communication along the military line of Washington and Moscow remain open.
On April 27, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that the Russian Federation does not intend to follow the path of nuclear escalation.
"American strategists are also in thrall to illusions regarding the hypothetical, as experts call it, nuclear escalation ladder. And we will do everything to prevent the worst-case scenario from developing, as the Russian leadership has repeatedly said," she said.
An employee of the department recommended not to doubt Moscow's determination. At the same time, she stressed that it is not worth checking this "in practice".
Attack on the Kremlin
Evgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner PMCs, expressed the opinion that "there can be no question of using nuclear weapons in response to a drone, of course." "First of all, it is necessary to put on the rack the one who is responsible for the fight against drones," he believes.
"And so we look like clowns who threaten a "nuclear bomb" on a children's drone," the head of the Wagner PMCS is sure.
Russia blamed Kiev for the incident, which, according to Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, acted on Washington's instructions. The Ukrainian and American authorities say they are not involved in the incident.
The Director of National Intelligence of the United States, Avril Haines, once again stated that the White House does not yet have information that would allow assessing the situation with drones.
"Obviously, you have seen that the Ukrainian government denies its involvement in this, and at this stage we have no information that would allow us to give an independent assessment of this," Haines said.
Earlier, the coordinator for strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, announced that the United States was not involved in the drone attacks on the Kremlin on the night of May 3.
Ukraine's Counteroffensive
During her speech to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Haines said that Kiev is working to determine the priorities of a counteroffensive in a special operation and is considering its timing and scope. She suggested that the Ukrainian authorities may begin to act this spring or summer.
"Western support will be crucial in the preparation of both plans and forces," she stated.
She also expressed the opinion that most likely Ukraine will not be able to resist Russia if the help of the West stops:
"Ukraine... It is still extremely dependent on external military assistance and, most likely, will not be able to withstand Russia's natural advantages in the ratio of manpower and resources if most of the Western military assistance is stopped."
Russia and China
At the meeting, the director of American national intelligence also touched on the topic of relations between Russia and China. In her opinion, the development of partnership between these countries has accelerated significantly since the start of the special operation.
"It is unlikely that we will be able to take away (Russia and China. - "Newspaper.Ru") from the course of further rapprochement," she pointed out.
At the same time, Haines believes that the alliance between Moscow and Beijing "has limits that will not allow them to achieve rapprochement at the NATO level."
Angelina Milchenko
