US intel chief thinking 'optimistically' for Ukraine forces - KRMG

KYIV, Ukraine — (AP) — The caput of U.S. quality says warring successful Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine is moving astatine a “reduced tempo” and suggests Ukrainian forces could person brighter prospects successful coming months.

Avril Haines alluded to past allegations by immoderate that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s advisers could beryllium shielding him from atrocious quality — for Russia — astir warfare developments, and said helium “is becoming much informed of the challenges that the subject faces successful Russia.”

“But it’s inactive not wide to america that helium has a afloat representation of astatine this signifier of conscionable however challenged they are,” the U.S. manager of nationalist quality said precocious Saturday astatine the Reagan National Defense Forum successful Simi Valley, California.

Looking ahead, Haines said, “honestly we’re seeing a benignant of a reduced tempo already of the conflict” and her squad expects that some sides volition look to refit, resupply, and reconstitute for a imaginable Ukrainian counter-offensive successful the spring.

“But we really person a just magnitude of skepticism arsenic to whether oregon not the Russians volition beryllium successful information prepared to bash that,” she said. “And I deliberation much optimistically for the Ukrainians successful that timeframe.”

On Sunday, the British Ministry of Defense, successful its latest quality estimate, pointed to caller signs from an autarkic Russian media outlet that nationalist enactment successful Russia for the subject run was “falling significantly.”

Meduza said it obtained a caller confidential sentiment survey conducted by the Federal Protection Service, which is successful complaint of guarding the Kremlin and providing information to apical authorities officials.

The survey, commissioned by the Kremlin, recovered that 55% of respondents backed bid talks with Ukraine portion 25% wanted the warfare to spell on. The study didn’t notation the borderline of error.

Levada Center, Russia’s apical autarkic pollster, recovered successful a akin canvass carried retired successful November canvass that 53% of respondents supported bid talks, 41% spoke successful favour of continuing the fight, and 6% were undecided. That canvass of 1,600 radical had a borderline of mistake of nary much than 3.4 percent.

The British Defense Ministry noted that “despite the Russian authorities’ efforts to enforce pervasive power of the accusation environment, the struggle has go progressively tangible for galore Russians since the September 2022 ‘partial mobilization.’”

“With Russia improbable to execute large battlefield successes successful the adjacent respective months, maintaining adjacent tacit support of the warfare amongst the colonisation is apt to beryllium progressively hard for the Kremlin,” it said.

In caller weeks, Russia’s subject absorption has been connected striking Ukrainian infrastructure and pressing an violative successful the east, adjacent the municipality of Bakhmut, portion shelling sites successful the metropolis of Kherson, which Ukrainian forces liberated past period aft an 8-month Russian occupation.

In his nightly code connected Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lashed retired astatine Western efforts to crimp Russia’s important lipid industry, a cardinal root of funds for Putin’s warfare machine, saying their $60-per-barrel terms headdress connected imports of Russian lipid was insufficient.

“It is not a superior determination to acceptable specified a bounds for Russian prices, which is rather comfy for the fund of the violent state,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Russia. He said the $60-per-barrel level would inactive let Russia to bring successful $100 cardinal successful revenues per year.

“This wealth volition spell not lone to the warfare and not lone to further sponsorship by Russia of different violent regimes and organisations. This wealth volition beryllium utilized for further destabilisation of those countries that are present trying to debar superior decisions,” Zelenskyy said.

Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, the United States and the 27-nation European Union agreed Friday to headdress what they would wage for Russian lipid astatine $60 per barrel. The bounds is acceptable to instrumentality effect Monday, on with an EU embargo connected Russian lipid shipped by sea.

Russian authorities person rejected the terms headdress and threatened Saturday to halt supplying the nations that endorsed it.

In yet different amusement of Western enactment for Ukraine's efforts to conflict backmost Russian forces and header with fallout from the war, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland connected Saturday visited the operations of a Ukrainian assistance radical that provides enactment for internally displaced radical successful Ukraine, among her different visits with apical Ukrainian officials.

Nuland assembled dolls retired of yarn successful the blue-and-yellow colors of Ukraine's emblem with youngsters from regions including northeastern Kharkiv, confederate Kherson, and eastbound Donetsk.

“This is intelligence enactment for them astatine an perfectly important time,” Nuland said.

“As President Putin knows best, this warfare could halt today, if helium chose to halt it and withdrew his forces — and past negotiations tin begin,” she added.

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Merchant reported from Washington, D.C.

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