(Bloomberg) — Ukraine isn’t developing biological or nuclear weapons, and Russia’s claims that it’s doing so is probably a false narrative pushed to cover up moves it may make in its war on its neighbor, U.S. spy chief Avril Haines told senators on Thursday.
“We do not assess that Ukraine is pursuing either biological weapons or nuclear weapons,” Haines, the director of national intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee during an annual hearing on global threats.
Claims by Russian officials that Ukraine is pursuing or using biological, chemical or nuclear weapons is a “classic” move to spin “false flag” narratives for dangerous moves that may be taken by President Vladimir Putin, Haines said. Ukraine — like many countries — does have bio research labs, but those are to defend against pandemics or attacks and are different from bioweapons labs, Haines and other officials said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters after the hearing that Russians “not only have the capacity, they have a history of using chemical and biological weapons.” In London, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he feared that Russia will use such weapons and “they have a fake story ready to go.”
More broadly, efforts by the U.S. and allied countries to quickly counter Russia’s claims has had “a great deal of effect” in disrupting Putin’s tactics and intentions, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns testified during the hearing.
“This is one information war that I think Putin is losing,” Burns said.
China’s ‘Unsettled’
Burns said that leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including President Xi Jinping, are “unsettled” by Putin’s actions in Ukraine, which are destabilizing the world economy and making it harder to drive a wedge between the U.S. and its European allies.
“What’s unfolded in Ukraine, the ugliness of it, the flawed assumptions that underpinned it from the point of view of President Putin, have unsettled the Chinese leadership a little bit,” the CIA chief said. “They’re concerned about the way in which President Putin is driving Europeans and Americans closer together.”
Cryptocurrency Moves
Senators questioned whether Russian officials and entities being sanctioned will be able to avoid the consequences by using cryptocurrencies. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that his bureau has more expertise and ability to stop Russians from doing end runs around sanctions using crypto than Moscow probably understands or expects.
The intelligence chiefs repeated an assessment they gave on Tuesday during a hearing before the House Intelligence Committee that Russia is likely to face “a persistent and significant insurgency” after Putin misjudged how his war against Ukraine would unfold.
However, two weeks into the war, Putin remains determined to control and dominate Ukraine, the spy chiefs said.
Russia is facing “significantly more resistance” and “encountering serious military shortcomings,” Haines said during Thursday’s hearing. However, Putin “probably remains confident” he can still defeat Ukraine, she said.
The efforts by U.S. intelligence to assess and disclose Russia’s intentions and counter its actions received bipartisan praise from lawmakers during both hearings.
“The people of Ukraine are literally voting with their lives,” Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said.
The panel’s top Republican, Marco Rubio of Florida, said Putin’s “barbarism is a shocking opening chapter in the return of history.”
“This is a monster you cannot make a deal with. This is a monster that has to be defeated,” Rubio said.
(Updates with White House and U.K. comments in fourth paragraph)
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