Ukraine conflict ‘corrosive’ for Putin; says CIA chief

War a ‘strategic failure’ that has exposed Moscow’s military weaknesses, hurt the economy and spurred a bigger NATO.

US officials confirmed William Burns quietly reached out to his Russian counterpart in the aftermath of Wagner’s failed mutiny, delivering a message that the US had no involvement in Russia’s internal chaos. Picture: AFP

Russia’s war in Ukraine has had a “corrosive” effect on Russian President Vladimir Putin, CIA director William Burns said at the weekend, with discontent over the conflict creating a “once-in-a generation opportunity” for the spy agency.

Speaking at the Ditchley Foundation in Britain overnight on Saturday, Mr Burns called Mr Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “the most immediate and acute geopolitical challenge to international order today”.

The address came a week after the head of Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin led his forces in a brief mutiny against Russia’s military command.

In doing so, he accused Russia of targeting his forces with deadly missile strikes in Ukraine and launched broadsides against Moscow’s narrative of the conflict: saying it was started “for the self-promotion of a bunch of bastards” and that Russia’s troops were retreating in Ukraine’s east and south.

“The impact of those words and those actions will play out for some time, a vivid reminder of the corrosive effect of Putin’s war on his own society and his own regime,” Mr Burns said.

He called the war a “strategic failure” for Moscow that has exposed military weaknesses, hurt the economy and spurred a bigger and stronger NATO.

“Disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership … That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at CIA,” he said. “We’re not letting it go to waste,” he added, noting the CIA recently posted on Telegram to let Russians know how to reach the CIA via the dark web.

“We had 2.5 million views in the first week, and we’re very much open for business.”

Mr Burns did not mention a recent trip to Ukraine where he met with intelligence counterparts and President Volodymyr Zelensky. The visit took place before Mr Prigozhin’s insurrection.

US officials confirmed Mr Burns quietly reached out to his Russian counterpart in the aftermath of Wagner’s failed mutiny, delivering a message that the US had no involvement in Russia’s internal chaos.

Mr Burns’s phone call with Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s foreign-intelligence service, is believed to be the highest-level contact between the two governments since the attempted mutiny. The failed uprising, which ended the day after it began on June 23 with an agreement brokered by Belarus’s leader, was the most serious threat to Mr Putin in his 23-year rule.

Russia’s security service, the FSB, has been ordered to assassinate Mr Prigozhin, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence chief.

Kyrylo Budanov said any such assassination attempt on the Wagner Group leader would be a “huge operation” and would take time, CNN reports. Mr Prigozhin accepted exile in Belarus under the deal in which charges of insurrection against the Wagner Group leader were dropped and the mercenaries were incorporated in the Russian military.

“All of such potential assassination attempts will not be fast,” Mr Budanov said.

Separately, a source closely acquainted with Mr Putin told the Moscow Times that “sooner or later,” the nerve agent novichok, used to poison Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, “shall come to (Prigozhin)”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pledged the EU’s “unequivocal” support for Ukraine’s bid to join the 27-nation bloc in Kyiv on Saturday as Spain assumed presidency of the bloc, while Mr Zelensky hit out at foot-dragging over pilot training by “some” Western nations.

Sixteen months into Russia’s invasion, Ukraine said it was fighting “fierce” battles as part of its counteroffensive launched last month after weeks of anticipation. Mr Zelensky and his commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny registered their frustration over the slow deliveries of weapons and lack of clarity on pilot training.

Mr Sanchez’s trip came ahead of a key NATO summit in Vilnius later this month that is expected to map out the future relationship between Ukraine and the Western military alliance.

Mr Burns also focused on China and warned of President Xi Jinping’s “growing repression at home and his aggressiveness abroad”. He said the CIA had established a mission focused on the Asian power and more than doubled the percentage of overall budget on China activities.

AFP