US Intelligence Director Haines: Next few months in Ukraine could be “unpredictable” and “escalatory”
The next few months in Ukraine could see a "more unpredictable and potentially escalatory trajectory", said Avril Haines, the Director of US National Intelligence according to Reuters. Russian victory in Ukraine's Donbas region might not be enough for Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, Haines continued, noting that there are indications that Russia wants to extend a landbridge to Transnistria.
Haines said that Putin is likely counting on US and EU resolve to support Ukraine weakening and said that he only thinks Putin would authorise a nuclear strike if he perceived an existential threat to Russia.
Monday was Russia's important Victory Day holiday, when the country commemorates its defeat of the Nazis in World War Two. Putin said at the time that there is no doubt that Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine will achieve its intended result.
Author
Joel Frank
Independent Analyst
Joel Frank is an economics graduate from the University of Birmingham and has worked as a full-time financial market analyst since 2018, specialising in the coverage of how developments in the global economy impact financial asset
