(Bloomberg) — The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has reached a stalemate, a senior U.S. intelligence official said, offering an unfavorable assessment of a counteroffensive that some U.S. and European leaders they expected it to turn the tide in favor of Kiev.
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“We’re certainly in a bit of a stalemate,” John Kirchhofer, chief of staff at the US Defense Intelligence Agency, said at a briefing in Washington on Thursday. “One of the things the Russian leadership believes is that they can outlast Western support.”
Kirchhofer’s view of the state of Ukraine’s counteroffensive contrasted with more optimistic assessments by other US officials, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, who said last month that forces Ukrainian women “advanced steadily”. At the same time, Milley said that no one should be under any illusions about how the fight will be “very long” and “very bloody”.
Kirchhofer was equally depressed by Ukraine’s demand for more and more powerful weapons from the US and its allies. He cited the US decision to send cluster bombs and HIMARS rocket systems to Ukraine, as well as the UK’s supply of Storm Shadow missiles.
“None of these, unfortunately, is the holy grail that the Ukrainians are looking for that will allow them to pass,” Kirchhofer said.
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