Ukraine: Russia believes the US has been weakened by the war against Iran
The head of the CIA was in Moscow to put pressure on the Kremlin to accept an agreement, but according to the Associated Press, US forces are short of Patriot missiles
Key points
The director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, whilst visiting Moscow, is reported to have privately shared with Russia his “gloomy” assessments of the Kremlin’s situation in the war in Ukraine, urging the Russians to reach an agreement before their military and economic situation deteriorates. This is reported by the New York Times, citing sources who claim that Ratcliffe conveyed his message to the head of Russian intelligence and did not threaten any consequences should Vladimir Putin decide to ignore his assessments and continue with the conflict.
Putin: The US weakened by the war against Iran
The Russian president’s view, however, appears to be different. Putin believes that it is the United States that finds itself in a position of weakness because of the war with Iran. The Kremlin’s confidential assessment preceded the CIA director’s secret trip to Moscow earlier this week. The mysterious mission to Moscow was preceded by new US intelligence suggesting that Russia regards Washington as weakened by the standoff with Tehran: this would offer the Kremlin the opportunity to step up actions against American interests and allies in Europe, reports the Washington Post, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. According to US President Trump, however, Putin has no plans for offensive action against US allies. “I’ve had some good chats with him. He won’t attack any NATO territory,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
AP: Patriot shortage in Europe well beyond critical levels
Confirming these fears, according to the Associated Press, the US armed forces are experiencing a shortage “well beyond the critical level” of missile interceptors, particularly Patriot systems, in Europe. In the event of a Russian ballistic missile attack on a military command centre or a power station, NATO could find itself in a situation similar to that of Ukraine and be forced to ‘take one hit after another in mid-flight’, explained a US official quoted by the news agency. The US military in Europe ‘definitely’ does not have enough Patriots to withstand a prolonged ballistic missile attack and would have ‘very limited’ capabilities to defend itself against a single attack or a Russian missile that has gone off course.
Cross-fire between Moscow and Kyiv continues
Meanwhile, the ground war between Russia and Ukraine continues unabated. Overnight, Russian forces attacked the region of Dnipropetrovsk more than ten times, resulting in two deaths. This was announced by Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, via Telegram, according to a report by Ukrinform. “Two people have been killed. The enemy attacked two districts more than 10 times with drones, air strikes and artillery,” said Hanzha. In Kherson, in southern Ukraine, the authorities have also urged residents to evacuate the city due to the danger posed by Russian shelling, which is intensifying and risks leaving the city without electricity or heating before winter.
In Russian-occupied Crimea, several people were injured in the area of Sevastopol in a Ukrainian drone attack. This was reported by Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev, who wrote on the Max platform: ‘Miraculously, despite the damage to the building, only two people were injured: an elderly woman, according to initial reports, suffered a closed head injury, whilst a man sustained cuts to his back caused by shrapnel.’
