Putin is too confident he can grind down Ukraine, CIA director says

As the warfare successful Ukraine enters its 2nd year, CIA Director William Burns said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being "too confident" successful his military's quality to grind Ukraine into submission.

Burns, successful a tv interview, said the caput of Russia's quality services had displayed successful their November gathering "a consciousness of cockiness and hubris" that reflected Putin's ain beliefs "that helium tin marque clip enactment for him, that helium believes helium tin grind down the Ukrainians that helium tin deterioration down our European allies, that governmental fatigue volition yet acceptable in."

That conversation, successful which Burns warned of the consequences if Russia were to deploy a atomic limb successful Ukraine, was "pretty dispiriting," Burns said.

Burns said helium judged Putin arsenic "quite determined" to proceed prosecuting the war, contempt the casualties, tactical shortcomings and economical and reputational harm to Russia.

"I deliberation Putin is, close now, wholly excessively assured of his quality ... to deterioration down Ukraine," Burns told CBS' "Face the Nation" successful an interrogation that aired Sunday. Burns said that "at immoderate point, he's going to person to look up to expanding costs arsenic well, successful coffins coming location to immoderate of the poorest parts of Russia," wherever helium said galore of the conscripts "being thrown arsenic cannon fodder" are from.

Burns besides said Putin was underestimating U.S. resoluteness to enactment Ukraine, saying that it has been his acquisition that the Russian leader's presumption is that Americans person "attention shortage upset and we'll determination connected to immoderate different contented eventually."

The comments came astatine a captious juncture for the warfare arsenic the Biden medication is "confident that the Chinese enactment is considering" whether to supply "lethal" subject instrumentality to Russia.

"It would beryllium a precise risky and unwise bet," Burns said, adding that specified a determination could lone further strain relations betwixt the world's 2 largest economics. "That's wherefore I anticipation precise overmuch that they don't."

Burns said China's leader, Xi Jinping, has intimately watched however the warfare has evolved, and "I think, successful galore ways, he's been unsettled and sobered by what he's seen." The CIA manager spoke of "where Putin's hubris has present gotten Russia," and said that successful authoritarian systems, erstwhile "nobody challenges" a leader, "you tin marque immoderate immense blunders."

Meanwhile, the question of subject assistance and the gait of the warfare is besides a root of uncertainty successful the U.S. arsenic Republican lawmakers criticized the medication for not sending F-16 combatant jets to Ukraine.

White House nationalist information advisor Jake Sullivan said the U.S. was providing Ukraine with the subject assistance needed to retake territory seized by Russia. The home authorities of enactment for Ukraine are besides analyzable by immoderate GOP members of Congress who accidental the medication should propulsion backmost and absorption much connected the needs astatine home.

Rep. Michael McCaul, president of the House Foreign Relations Committee, said planes and long-range artillery could assistance extremity the warfare connected a faster timeline. "This full happening is taking excessively long," McCaul said. "And it truly didn't person to hap this way," said McCaul, R-Texas.

Ukraine won enactment past period from Baltic nations and Poland successful its quest to get Western combatant jets, but determination person been nary signs that nations specified arsenic the U.S. and Britain volition alteration their stance of refusing to supply warplanes to Kyiv.

Biden said successful an ABC News interrogation connected Friday that he's "ruling it retired for now," saying that they are not the weaponry that Ukrainians request successful the adjacent term.

But Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the White House has been dilatory successful providing what Ukraine seeks, including jets. "That has been a signifier with this medication from the beginning, wherever they person slow-rolled captious subject weapons systems," helium said.

Jake Sullivan said the U.S. is already providing parts to support Ukraine's fleet of Soviet-era jets flying, but supplying F-16s "is truly a question for different day, for different phase" of the war.

Jake Sullivan appeared connected NBC's "Meet the Press," CNN's "State of the Union" and ABC's "This Week." McCaul was connected ABC and Dan Sullivan was connected NBC.