U.S. intel chiefs warn Putin is expanding his nuclear weapons arsenal as the war in Ukraine drags on

WASHINGTON – Russian President Vladimir Putin is apt to further upgrade the Kremlin's arsenal of long-range nuclear-capable missiles successful bid to deter Kyiv and its almighty Western allies, U.S. officials warned Wednesday.

The informing from the nation's apical spymasters comes arsenic Russia intensifies its present year-long combat successful Ukraine and arsenic Putin threatens to retreat from a cardinal atomic arms treaty.

"Throughout its penetration of Ukraine, Moscow has continued to amusement that it views its atomic capabilities arsenic indispensable for maintaining deterrence and achieving its goals successful a imaginable struggle against the U.S. and NATO and it sees its atomic weapons arsenal arsenic the eventual guarantor of the Russian Federation," the nation's apical quality bureau wrote successful its yearly menace report.

The unclassified 35-page quality assessment adds that Moscow volition go much babelike connected atomic weapons pursuing important battlefield losses and punishing rounds of sanctions that person crippled the Kremlin's quality to concern its warfare machine.

"Heavy losses to its crushed forces and the large-scale expenditures of precision-guided munitions during the struggle person degraded Moscow's crushed and air-based accepted capabilities and accrued its reliance connected atomic weapons," the quality assemblage wrote.

Putin, whose state boasts the largest arsenal of atomic weapons successful the world, has antecedently rattled the atomic saber connected the heels of Ukrainian advances connected the battlefield.

The West, meanwhile, has described Putin's threats of utilizing atomic weapons arsenic "irresponsible" and an effort to reassert Russia's dominance successful the region.

Last month, Putin upped the ante by announcing helium would suspend information successful the New START treaty, a important atomic arms simplification agreement. The statement is the sole arms power pact successful spot betwixt Washington and Moscow pursuing erstwhile President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, oregon INF, treaty.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Putin's determination "deeply unfortunate" and said the Biden medication remains acceptable to negociate "at immoderate clip with Russia, irrespective of thing other going connected successful the world."

What's more, Avril Haines, manager of nationalist intelligence, told lawmakers connected Wednesday that Russia's subject is improbable to marque "major territorial gains" this year, which could contiguous an accidental for further atomic threats.

"Putin astir apt calculates that clip works successful his favour and that prolonging the warfare including with imaginable pauses successful the fighting, mightiness beryllium his champion remaining pathway to yet securing Russian strategical interests successful Ukraine, adjacent if it takes years," said Haines, who leads America's 18 quality agencies, earlier the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The quality chiefs, who had previously warned past twelvemonth that Russia would treble down successful Ukraine amid stalled progress, wrote that Putin's penetration has not yielded the result helium expected and helium "miscalculated the quality of the Ukrainian Armed Forces."

The spymasters besides said the Russian subject volition proceed to look unit shortages, logistical setbacks arsenic good arsenic morale challenges.

Haines, who spoke alongside CIA Director William Burns, FBI Director Christopher Wray, NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone and DIA Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, said the quality assemblage continues to show Russia's atomic threats.