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WASHINGTON: Russia鈥檚 setbacks and stretched resources in Ukraine show its forces are incapable of achieving President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 initial aims in invading the country as things stand now, the Pentagon鈥檚 intelligence chief said Friday.
鈥淲e鈥檙e coming to a point right now where I think Putin is going to have to revise what his objectives are for this operation,鈥� Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told an intelligence and national security conference outside Washington. 鈥淏ecause 鈥渋t鈥檚 pretty clear right now that he鈥檚 ... not going to be able to do what he initially intended to do.鈥�
Putin sent troops into neighboring Ukraine in February with what US officials say was the objective of unseating Ukraine鈥檚 Western-friendly government. Ukrainian forces drove Russian fighters from their positions around Ukraine鈥檚 capital earlier in the war. And Russia suffered another major setback last week, when a Ukrainian counteroffensive forced its troops back from large swaths of Ukraine鈥檚 northeast.
鈥淭he Russians planned for an occupation, not necessarily an invasion, and that has set them back,鈥� Berrier said, citing Putin鈥檚 reluctance so far to fully mobilize Russian forces to get more manpower into the fight.
President Joe Biden and other administration officials have taken care not to call Russia鈥檚 latest retreat a Ukrainian victory or turning point in the war, and analysts caution it鈥檚 impossible to assess what may lie ahead.
鈥淗e鈥檚 coming to a decision鈥� point,鈥� Berrier said of Putin. 鈥淲hat that decision will be we don鈥檛 know. But that will largely drive how long this conflict lasts.鈥�
Berrier spoke at a panel with other senior officials at the intelligence community鈥檚 Intelligence and National Security Summit at National Harbor in Maryland just outside Washington.
Asked about concerns that Putin could unleash weapons of mass destruction if he鈥檚 thwarted on the battlefield by US and NATO-backed Ukrainian forces, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we should underestimate Putin鈥檚 adherence to his original agenda, which was to control Ukraine. I don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e seen any reason to believe he has moved off that.鈥�
Nor should the US underestimate Putin鈥檚 鈥渞isk appetite,鈥� Cohen said. Putin and his officials early in the war made allusions to Russia鈥檚 nuclear arsenal and to massive retaliation in warning NATO not to get involved in the conflict.
鈥淭hat being said, we have not seen concrete evidence of planning for the use of WMD,鈥� Cohen said. The more likely form of any Russian retaliation against the United States would be more attempts at interfering with the US political system, other security and intelligence officials said.
Separately, in a major regional summit in Uzbekistan on Friday, Putin vowed to press the attack on Ukraine and warned that Moscow could ramp up its strikes on the country鈥檚 infrastructure if Ukrainian forces target facilities in Russia.
The conference included the leaders of China, India, Turkey and several other countries.
Putin said the 鈥渓iberation鈥� of Ukraine鈥檚 entire eastern Donbas region was Russia鈥檚 main military goal and that he saw no need to revise it.
鈥淲e aren鈥檛 in a rush,鈥� the Russian leader said.