“War fighting in Ukraine is proceeding at a ‘reduced pace’ and Ukrainian forces may have better prospects for the coming months, according to the US intelligence officer.
Avril Haines cited past allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s advisers may be keeping bad news for Russia about the progress of the war from him, noting that he is “becoming better informed about the challenges facing the military in Russia ”.
“But it’s still not clear to us that you have a complete picture at this point of how challenged they are,” the US director of national intelligence said at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California on Saturday night. .
Looking ahead, “honestly we already see a kind of reduced pace of the conflict,” he said, and his team expects both sides to try to resupply, readjust and reform for a possible counter-offensive in the spring.
“But we’re actually quite skeptical about whether or not the Russians will be prepared to do that,” he said. “And I think more optimistically about the Ukrainians in that space of time.”
An independent Russian outlet has reported new indications that public support in Russia for the military campaign is “falling significantly,” Britain’s Defense Ministry said in its new intelligence report on Sunday.
Meduza said he had obtained a recent confidential opinion poll conducted by the Federal Protective Service, which is tasked with protecting the Kremlin and providing security for senior members of the government.
The poll commissioned by the Kremlin found that 55% of respondents were in favor of entering peace negotiations with Ukraine, while 25% of people preferred the war to continue. The report did not mention the margin of error.
The Levada Center, Russia’s leading independent pollster, found in a similar poll conducted in November that 53% of those interviewed supported peace talks, 41% were in favor of continuing the fight and 6% were undecided. That poll of 1,600 people had a margin of error of no more than 3.4%.
“Despite efforts by the Russian authorities to impose widespread control over the information environment, the conflict has become increasingly tangible for many Russians since the partial mobilization of September 2022,” the British Ministry of Defense said.
“Given that Russia is unlikely to achieve major battlefield victories in the coming months, it is likely that maintaining even tacit approval of the war among the population will prove increasingly difficult for the Kremlin,” he said.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have focused on attacking Ukrainian infrastructure and pressing an offensive in the east near the city of Bakhmut, while launching shells at targets in the city of Kherson, which Ukrainian forces liberated last month. after eight months of Russian occupation.
In his evening address, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Western efforts to undermine Russia’s crucial oil industry, which is a vital source of revenue for Putin’s war machine, on Saturday, saying the $60 limit per barrel to imports of Russian crude oil was insufficient.
“Putting such a cap on Russian prices is not a serious decision, it is quite comfortable for the budget of the terrorist state,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Russia. That $60 a barrel would still allow Russia to bring in $100 billion, he said.
“This money will not only go to war and will not only further boost Russia’s support for other terrorist regimes and organizations. This money will be used to further destabilize those countries that are now trying to avoid serious decisions,” Zelenskyy said.
Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, the United States and the 27-nation European Union agreed on Friday to limit the price they will pay for Russian crude to $60 a barrel. The cap will take effect on Monday, along with an EU embargo on Russian oil delivered by sea.
Russian authorities have rejected the price cap and threatened on Saturday to stop delivering supplies to countries that support it.
In another show of Western support for Ukrainian efforts to repel Russian forces and deal with the effects of the war, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland visited a Ukrainian aid group offering support to displaced people on Saturday. internal inside Ukraine, among other visits to Ukrainian leaders.
Nuland made woolen dolls in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag with young people from regions such as Kharkiv in the north, Kherson in the south and Donetsk in the east.
“This is psychological support for them at an absolutely crucial time,” Nuland said.
“As President Putin knows well, this war could end today, if he decides to stop it and withdraw his forces, and then negotiations can begin,” he added.