War Ukraine - Russia, live breaking news | The CIA claims that Putin "is doubling his bet in the Ukraine war"

• War in Ukraine Objective: to topple Putin, "war criminal" and pariah in world forums

Bill Burns, director of the CIA and expert on

, believes that

's president cannot afford to lose in

and is "doubling down" on the

, but shows no signs of planning to use tactical nuclear weapons in

.

While "all children, women and the elderly have been evacuated from

", the Government of

has announced .

As the fighting against the

continues, the evacuation of civilians from

after weeks of intense fighting over the

has ended.

update narration

07.05.

Putin 'is doubling down on the Ukraine war,' says CIA chief

Russian President

believes he cannot afford to lose in

and is "doubling down" on the

, but shows no signs of planning to use tactical nuclear weapons, CIA director Vladimir Putin has said.

.

Despite the failure of Russian forces to capture

and their difficulties on the main fronts in the southeastern Donbas region, the Russian leader persists in his belief that his troops can defeat the

troops , Burns said.

He maintains it "despite key defeats on the battlefield," the US intelligence chief told a

conference .

"I think he's in a frame of mind where he doesn't think he can afford to lose," he said.

According to Burns, Putin has been "worried" for years about

, which was part of the Soviet Union, in a "highly combustible combination of grievance, ambition and insecurity."

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