US intelligence chief warns of "historic own goal", Russia takes down nearly 100 weapons a day

In an article on the website of Diplomacy magazine, Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Bill Burns commented that Ukraine may face a difficult year when confronting Russia in 2024.

CIA Director Bill Burns. (Source: AP)

"This year could be a difficult one on the ground in Ukraine. A US withdrawal from the conflict at this critical moment and the cutting off of support for Ukraine would be an own goal of historic proportions," Reuters quoted his article as noting.

The CIA chief said that aid to Ukraine accounts for less than 5% of the US defense budget and is only a "relatively modest investment compared to the significant geopolitical benefits and industrial benefits that the US gets."

Meanwhile, if there is any chance of serious negotiations to end the conflict, supplying weapons to Ukraine would put it in a stronger bargaining position.

One of Ukraine's challenges, according to Mr. Burns, "is not only to make progress on the front lines but also by conducting deeper attacks from the rear and gaining steady advances in the Black Sea."

CIA Director Bill Burns is the latest senior US official to publicly support continued support for Ukraine, as lawmakers in Congress struggling to reach a southern border deal to address the migrant crisis continue to block a $60 billion aid package for Kiev.

In a development related to the conflict in Ukraine, on January 30, the Russian Defense Ministry announced significant successes of the country's air defense system in the past 24 hours.

Accordingly, Russian air defense forces shot down 86 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 12 multiple launch missiles, including Uragan and HIMARS missiles, as well as destroyed a US-made JDAM guided bomb.

UAVs were downed in various areas, including Zolotarevka, Popasnaya, Kremennaya in Lugansk region, Verkhnekamenskoye, Yampolovka in Donetsk region, as well as in Ocheretovaty, Shevchenkovo, Mirny, Konstantinovka, Lyubimovka in Zaporozhye region and Korsunka in Kherson region.

The statement said that since the start of the special military operation, the Russian army has destroyed 568 Ukrainian military aircraft, 265 helicopters, 11,431 UAVs, 456 air defense missile systems, 14,847 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,211 multiple launch rocket systems, 7,902 field guns and mortars, as well as 18,042 military vehicles.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tinh-hinh-ukraine-trum-tinh-bao-my-canh-bao-pha-phan-luoi-nha-co-quy-mo-lich-su-nga-ha-guc-gan-tram-vu-khi-mot-ngay-259418.html