Putin's military lacks 'manpower' but that's just one of 'a lot of other problems,' CIA director says
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Taiyler Simone Mitchell
Sep 29, 2022, 08:38 IST
In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he addresses the nation in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.Russian Presidential Press Service via AP
CIA Director William Burns said Russia's military mobilization won't be enough to help them win the war.
Putin ordered a "partial military mobilization" to bring in an extra 300,000 troops as the war persists.
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CIA Director William Burns argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin's "partial military mobilization" won't substantially improve Russia's position in the war.
"Even if he's able to mobilize 300,000 troops, it's not as if throwing people like cannon fodder toward the front, many of whom are not gonna be well-trained, many of whom are not going to have the kind of equipment that they need or the logistical support that they need as well" will improve the military's position. "His military has a lot of other problems, manpower is only one of them," Burns said to CBS News' Norah O'Donnell on Tuesday.
When asked about Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons, Burns said there hasn't been proof of an "imminent threat" yet, but his language must still be taken with weight.
"We have to take very seriously his kind of threats given everything that's at stake, and the rhetoric that he and other senior Russian leaders have used is reckless and deeply irresponsible," Burns told O'Donnell.
"It's very hard to say at this point, and as I said, what we have to do is take it very seriously, watch for signs of actual preparations," he added.
Burns said two weeks after the start of the war that Putin continues to be incorrect about how the war will play out.
Putin, Burns said to the House Select Intelligence Committee in March, thought "Russia faced a favorable landscape for the use of force against Ukraine."
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"He's been proven wrong on every count," he added. "Those assumptions have proven to be profoundly flawed over the last 12 days of conflict."
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