Ammunition shortages, low morale, supply problems, curatorship, Ukrainian resistance and a whole range of issues and difficulties are what the Russian army is facing in Ukraine, which has proven to be underprepared to carry out Vladimir Putin's grandiose plans.
This, point out U.S. intelligence agencies, who found that the Russian president did not seem to know how badly the situation was going for the Russian armed forces because no one in his inner circle dared to tell him the truth.
Now Putin knows the bitter truth
But now things have changed, according to April Haynes, the head of U.S. intelligence, who spoke Saturday at a defense conference in California.
As the war has lasted far longer than the Kremlin's initial projections and Russian forces have suffered significant defeats being forced to withdraw from Ukrainian territory they had occupied, such as Kharkiv, Kherson and parts of Donbas, Putin is clearly better informed about the problems facing his military, Haines said.
"I think he has a better understanding of the challenges that the (Russian) military faces. But it is not yet clear whether he has the full picture of how big the challenges are (...), she noted.
Lowering expectations and seeking ammunition
Always from Ms. Haynes' perspective, Mr. Putin's policies in Ukraine have not changed, but U.S. intelligence believes that he may lower expectations in the short term, "temporarily," on the grounds that "he will come back later."
In the view of U.S. intelligence, the Russian military is depleting its stockpile, especially of ammunition, "rather quickly." This "is truly remarkable" and "our sense is that it is not able to replenish, based on domestic production capabilities, what it is consuming at this stage."
That is why, he continued, "ou see them (the Russians) going to other countries to secure ammunition (...) we have pointed out that high-precision ammunition is depleting much faster."
Haines reiterated that the US has recorded "some mobility" in the supply of ammunition from North Korea, but "it is not large quantities at this stage," she added.
"Most of the fighting right now is taking place around Bahmut in the Donetsk region," she said. The Americans expect the two sides to regroup for a possible Ukrainian counterattack in the spring, about which Haynes said she was "optimistic."...According to the Kremlin, however, the Russian president "at some point" intends to visit Donbass.
Source: in.gr
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