Director of National Intelligence Avril Haynes said that US assessments indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a protracted war in Ukraine, with the coming months likely to witness a significant and unexpected escalation in hostilities.
This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the international community to intervene in order to end the Russian blockade on his country's ports, which could cause severe food shortages in several regions of the world.
The Pentagon spokesman also announced that more than 5,500 Javelin missiles and 1,500 Stinger missiles had reached Ukraine, stressing that Russian planes no longer ventured into the country's airspace except rarely and for limited periods.
And Haynes warned - during a Senate session devoted to hearing the leaders of the intelligence services - that Russia's victory in the Donbass region may not end the war, noting that there are indications of Moscow's desire to expand the scope of its military operations.
The US official also confirmed that the data available to her indicates that President Putin will not authorize the use of nuclear weapons unless he feels an existential threat to his country.
Haynes noted that there was little hope that the Ukrainian-Russian negotiations would succeed, and that Russia's failure to seize Kyiv deprived it of a quick military victory that it had been expecting.
Operation Failed
For its part, British military intelligence announced that what it described as Russia's disdain for the Ukrainian resistance led to a clear operational failure that prevented President Putin from declaring a major military success in Ukraine during yesterday's Victory Day parade in Moscow.
She added - in a series of tweets - that the assumption of the Russian forces that they would face limited Ukrainian resistance prompted them to try to implement the opening phase of the military operation with a light and accurate approach aimed at achieving a quick victory at the lowest cost.
On the other hand, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described what he called the "unified Arab position" in the Arab League towards the Ukrainian crisis as balanced and objective.
He added - in a press conference with his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra in Algiers - that the United States imposed on the European Union the position it had taken on the war, stressing that Moscow was doing its best not to allow the establishment of a unipolar world, as he put it.
In a related context, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Russia's war on Ukraine is a "turning point" for Europe and the North Atlantic region, pointing out that the upcoming NATO summit will decide the necessary military arrangements in light of the new security situation resulting from the war.
Earlier today, German Foreign Minister Annalina Birbock announced the reopening of her country's embassy in Kyiv, stressing that Germany would reduce Russian energy imports to zero.
The German official began her visit to Ukraine with a tour of the city of Bucha, where the authorities announced that they had found about 400 bodies of Ukrainian civilians, whom Kyiv and international organizations accused the Russian forces of having liquidated before they withdrew from the city.
Birbock said that those responsible for the Bucha massacre should be brought to justice and that the international community should honor this pledge.
Concerning Ukraine's proposal to join the European Union, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country has taken another important step on its way to the European Union, and explained that his government submitted the second part of the responses to the questionnaire on joining the European bloc.
For his part, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo considered that the process of joining the union is long and complicated, but this should not disrupt the member states' support for Ukraine, as he put it.
Javelin and Stinger
On the ground, the Pentagon spokesman said that more than 5,500 Javelin missiles and 1,500 Stinger missiles have reached Ukraine, and that Russian planes do not venture into the country's airspace except rarely and for limited periods.
The Ukrainian army also stated that its forces managed to recapture four towns from the Russian forces in Kharkiv, in the northeast of the country.
The Russian Ministry of Defense had announced earlier that its forces and pro-separatists in Luhansk had managed to penetrate the defense line of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and reach the administrative borders of the district.
Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov confirmed that 120 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in Luhansk and 380 others in separate operations last night.
Donetsk separatists stated that two civilians were killed and nine others were wounded in Ukrainian shelling on the districts of Kirov, Lenin and Petrov in the north and west of the Donetsk region.
In Mariupol, in the southeast of the country, Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted Azov fighters in the Azovstal Steel Complex, east of the city, as confirming that Russian forces continue their attempts to storm the complex with the participation of infantry forces.
continuous bombardment
Azov fighters reported that the factory was still bombarded with heavy artillery and warships' cannons;
They indicated that 34 raids were carried out on the factory yesterday, including 8 attacks by strategic bombers.
The Mariupol city council had previously indicated that the attempt to seize what he called the "Ukrainian fortress" did not stop and that the Russian side continued its daily attacks.
And Reuters news agency quoted Petro Andryushenko, assistant mayor of Mariupol, that about 100 civilians are still in the besieged Azovstal steel complex east of the city, adding that the pace of the Russian attack on the complex has not decreased.