US intelligence: War in Ukraine likely to become 'more unpredictable and escalatory'

The US intelligence community believes that the war in Ukraine is likely to become "more unpredictable and escalatory" in the coming months, the nation's top spymaster told Congress on Tuesday, Report informs via CNN.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines painted a grim and uncertain picture of the next phase of Putin's two month-old invasion, which she told the Senate Armed Services Committee shows no signs of ending.

Even if Russia is successful in the Donbas, where Moscow is currently concentrating its military efforts, "we are not confident the fight in Donbas will effectively end the war," Haines said. The intelligence community assesses that Putin is "preparing for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine, during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas," she said.

"At the very least, we believe the dichotomy will usher in a period of more ad hoc decision-making in Russia, both with respect to the domestic adjustments required to sustain this push, as well as the military conflict with Ukraine and the west," she said.

"And the current trend increases the likelihood that President Putin will turn to more drastic means, including imposing martial law, reorienting industrial production, or potentially escalatory military actions to free up the resources needed to achieve his objectives as the conflict drags on, or if he perceives Russia is losing in Ukraine," she said.

The intelligence community believes that if Russia wants to achieve its maximalist objectives for the conflict — which Haines said could include building a land bridge around the southern bight of the country to Moldova — it would need to launch a full military mobilization inside Russia, a step he has so far not taken.