CIA Director Bill Burns said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has no political end game to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the face of fierce resistance from Ukrainians."
Burns, during testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on national security threats, responded to a question about how he thought the ongoing conflict in Ukraine would end.
"That's the core question," Burns said, according to Business Insider, noting that he's not sure of what the outcome will be. "I think Putin's assumptions have turned out to be profoundly flawed."
He added that Putin "failed to see how he could sustain a puppet regime or a pro-Russian leadership that he tried to install in the face of what is a massive opposition from Ukrainian people."
Burns went on to say, "I fail to see how he can produce that kind of an end game," and said that he thinks Putin will have an "ugly next few weeks" in which he will "double down" on the invasion in an effort to take control.
"One thing I am convinced of is the Ukrainians are going to continue to resist fiercely and effectively," Burns said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday in a speech to the United Kingdom Parliament, "We will not give up, and we will not lose. We will fight till the end at sea and in the air; we will continue fighting for our land whatever the costs. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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