Russia's aggressive tactics in Ukraine are likely to continue and the war is unlikely to end soon, the top US intelligence official said on Thursday.
The US Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, also pointed out that national and international developments tend in favor of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
The speech took place before the US Senate Armed Services Committee, where she also highlighted that Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure to hinder the movement of weapons and troops, slow down Defense industry production and force the country to consider negotiations.
“Putin’s increasingly aggressive tactics against Ukraine, such as attacks on electrical infrastructure, are intended to show Ukraine that continuing to fight will only increase the damage and offer no plausible path to victory,” she assessed.
“These aggressive tactics are likely to continue and the war is unlikely to end anytime soon,” Haines commented.
Meeting on threats against the US
Avril Haines and Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, testified before the committee about the intelligence community's 2024 assessment of the threats facing the United States.
Regarding China, considered by the US to be its main global rival, Haines highlighted that Chinese President Xi Jinping and his main leaders expect some instability in relations with Washington in the future.
But, she continued, they will seek to project stability into these diplomatic ties, as their top priority is dealing with China's troubled economy.
Instead of pursuing policies to stimulate consumer spending or encourage investment, they appear to be “duplicating” a long-term strategy driven by manufacturing and technological innovation, he said.
This approach, however, “will almost certainly deepen public and investment pessimism in the short term,” he added.
China is facing adverse economic difficulties, including weak domestic demand, high youth unemployment and a housing crisis.
Beijing has stepped up investment in infrastructure and started investing in high-tech manufacturing, but some economists warn that this could increase imbalances in the long term.
Xi and his top leaders are increasingly concerned about the U.S. ability to impact China's technological goals and have “modified their approach to economic retaliation against the United States” by “imposing at least some tangible costs on U.S. companies ,” Haines said.
Haines was apparently referring to attacks on U.S. companies that have cooled China's foreign business environment, and Beijing's expanding restrictions on U.S. technology applications over national security concerns.
However, American intelligence agencies assess that, in the coming months, China will likely limit this economic retaliation to avoid damage to its domestic economy, he pondered.
“In particular, the significant decline in foreign direct investment in China, a 77% drop in 2023, will likely lead the PRC (People's Republic of China) to be more measured in its responses, absent an unexpected escalation by the United States. United”, concluded
Source: CNN Brasil
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