William Burns, director of the CIA, warns of the risks of a potential Ukrainian defeat if the United States does not intensify its military aid. The warning comes two days before the vote, scheduled for Saturday, in the American House of Representatives on a package of 61 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine, mainly military.
"The risk is very real that the Ukrainians will lose on the battlefield by the end of 2024, or at least that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will be in a position to dictate the terms of a political settlement, he said. To illustrate the Ukrainian army's lack of ammunition, he also claimed that two brigades, units of more than 2,000 soldiers, had only "15 artillery shells per day" and a total of "42 mortar shells.' "I think the Ukrainians are fully capable of holding on in 2024,' Burns said in a speech at the George W. Bush Center. 'Without additional help, the situation is much more dire,' he said, without detailing what he meant by "losing" the war.