Britain's foreign intelligence service chief believes that Russia is soon going to run out of steam in its war on Ukraine, arguing that it has lost its ability to spy in Europe "by half" following the expulsion of more than 400 Russian intelligence officers in the region.
The head of MI6, Richard Moore, said that since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, European countries have expelled "north of 400 Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover" across the bloc.
Russia's War on Ukraine
He noted that in the UK, this has led to a reduced ability of Moscow to do their business to spy in Europe by half. He added that there were a number of "illegals," or Russian spies operating under deep cover and masquerading as ordinary civilians, who have been exposed and arrested in recent months.
The official noted he believes that Russia could be "about to run out of steam in Ukraine, saying that Moscow will find it even more challenging to supply manpower material in the next few weeks. Moore added that Russia would most likely have to pause in some way, which will give Ukrainians opportunities to strike back, as per CNN.
The British official noted that Ukrainian morale was still high amid the war, noting that they have started to receive an increasing amount of weaponry from other nations. On the other hand, Russia has significantly failed in its initial objectives to take Kyiv and overthrow the government using "cannon fodder" for its offensives in eastern Ukraine.
Moore was also asked whether the war in Ukraine made Russia a "target-rich environment" for the UK and its allies to recruit potential assets. The official said that "it is our hope" that Russians in the intelligence and diplomatic services will "reflect on what they are witnessing in Ukraine" and decide to "strike back against the system."
According to the New York Post, the head of Britain's overseas intelligence services acknowledged that Moscow was able to make gains in the Donbas and southern Ukraine. However, he warned that the Kremlin's troops were stretching their supply chain thin in their war against Ukraine.
Cannon Fodder
Moore noted that while the Russian troops have made some incremental progress over recent weeks and months, it is relatively tiny amounts. He added that those gains came with a price, as his service made a "conservative estimate" of 15,000 Russian soldiers being killed in action.
The British official added that the individuals were not "middle-class kids from St. Petersburg or Moscow." They were poor kids from rural parts of Russia, noting that they were from blue-collar towns in Siberia and were disproportionately from ethnic minorities.
While Moore assessed that Russia's war effort was struggling, he opposed the idea that Russian President Vladimir Putin was of the same state. He said that there was no evidence that the strongman is suffering from ill health.
Moore noted that the conservative estimate of Russian troops lost in battle was similar to the 10 years they suffered in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Speaking a day earlier at a conference, CIA Director Bill Burns said there were maybe three times as many wounded, Yahoo News reported.
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