CIA Director William Burns said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “very confident” he could defeat Ukraine because China considered providing military aid that could hurt Moscow.
The Russian leader doesn’t appear to be backing down, Burns told CBS’ “Face the Nation” when asked if he saw any signs that Putin would realize he couldn’t win the conflict.
“I think Putin right now, he’s very confident in his ability, as I said before, to wear down Ukraine, grind it down and that’s what’s given all the evidence that’s been determined now,” Burns told CBS’ Margaret. Brennan in the interview, which aired Sunday.
In a separate interview with “Face the Nation,” former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the U.S. should “do everything possible to convince” Putin that he is mistaken in thinking that time is on his side and that support for Ukraine from Europe and the U.S. will erode.
Meanwhile, US officials have expressed concern about the potential for China to send lethal military aid to Moscow. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a Putin ally, will visit Beijing this week.
“No foreign leader is more cautious about Vladimir Putin’s experience in Ukraine, the evolution of the war, than Xi Jinping,” Burns said.
Burns added that Xi was surprised by Russia’s poor performance on the battlefield.
“I think [he was] surprised also by the level of Western solidarity and support from Ukraine, “said Burns. “In other words, the willingness of not only the United States, but also our European allies to absorb some of the economic costs for the sake of causing greater economic damage to Russia over time.”
The US has so far been the largest bilateral spender in Ukraine, with commitments of more than €73 billion ($77 billion) from January 24, 2022, to January 15 this year, according to the Kiel Institute’s Ukraine Support Tracker.
Burns said he had previously visited Russian spy chief Sergei Naryshkin at the behest of President Joe Biden to convey a message to Moscow, including Putin, about the consequences the country would face “if Russia should choose to use any nuclear weapon.”
“And I think Naryshkin understands the seriousness of the problem and I think President Putin understands it as well,” Burns added.
Russia’s war in Ukraine reached the one-year mark on Friday. Last week, Putin gave a much-anticipated state of the nation address, in which he announced Moscow’s withdrawal from the New START nuclear arms control treaty signed with the US in 2010.
Biden called Putin’s announcement a “huge mistake,” and Bonnie Jenkins, the US undersecretary for arms control and international security, said Monday that it showed Russia “is not a responsible nuclear power.”
Rice called on the 2024 presidential candidate to understand the larger implications of the Ukraine war, which she described as not only about Ukraine’s independence, but also “defending a rules-based system.”
Former President Donald Trump, the first GOP candidate to announce his 2024 campaign, earlier this month told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt: “This has to stop, and it has to stop now. And it’s not going to stop if we keep stuffing things,” referring to aid for Ukraine .
Rice warned the incoming presidential candidate that major conflicts like the Ukraine war “always come home.”
“If the Americans see a world where Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have won this engagement, this first volley, if you will, in the biggest strategic picture, and they see that the independence of Ukraine has been killed, and they know that the United States can do anything, I don’t think it’s going to be a good message for the next president,” he said.