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Russian soldiers in front of the Volgograd war memorial
Photo:
Alexandr Kulikov / AP
US intelligence services expect a further slowdown in the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine as the winter progresses.
A reduced pace of fighting can already be observed;
both parties to the conflict tried to regroup for further fighting in the spring, US intelligence coordinator Avril Haines said at a military forum in Simi Valley, California.
However, there is a "certain degree of skepticism" in intelligence circles as to whether the Russian armed forces are even prepared for new fighting in March.
In this respect, the view of the Ukrainians is more optimistic, according to Haines.
Russia is currently using more ammunition than it can reproduce.
The "truly extraordinary" rate at which Russian forces are using up their ammunition is prompting Moscow to turn to countries such as North Korea for help, Haines said in an interview with US television network NBC at the Reagan National Defense Forum.
Despite failure: Putin is sticking to the war goal
In addition to the procurement of supplies, Haines also saw logistical and moral challenges for Russia in the offensive that has been going on for more than nine months.
It is unclear to what extent Russia's President Vladimir Putin is aware of the difficulties.
“I think he's becoming increasingly informed about the challenges facing the military in Russia.
But we're still not sure he fully understands how big they are," Haines said.
Putin has not changed his political goal of controlling Ukraine, but was surprised by the lack of success of the offensive.
The US intelligence experts thought it possible that Putin could scale back his military ambitions, at least temporarily, "with the idea that he'll come back to it later."
atb/dpa/AP
