CIA Director Burns says U.S., West shouldn’t be intimidated by Kremlin’s nuclear threats in Ukraine

The U.S. and its allies should not be “unnecessarily intimidated” by Russian threats to unleash its nuclear arsenal as Ukraine presses for more offensive weaponry to turn back a Russian invading force, CIA Director William Burns said this weekend.

In a surprise public appearance Saturday with British MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore in London, Mr. Burns said CIA analysts had assessed there was a genuine danger in 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin might follow through on threats to use his vast nuclear arsenal against Ukraine and its allies, but that more recent Russian threats were far less plausible.

“Putin’s a bully. He’s going to continue to saber-rattle from time to time,” Mr. Burns told a session at London’s Kenwood House organized by the Financial Times newspaper. “We cannot afford to be intimidated by that saber-rattling.”

His comments come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stepped up a lobbying campaign in Washington and other Western capitals for more offensive weapons as Ukrainian troops pursue a surprise counteroffensive that has already seized a large swath of Russian territory in the Kursk region.

The Biden administration has repeatedly hesitated in the past to meet Kyiv’s demands, fearing since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022 that such a move would be too provocative for Mr. Putin and lead to a direct war between NATO and Russia.

Both Mr. Burns and Mr. Moore praised the recent Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The surprise attack in Kursk was “typically audacious and bold on the part of the Ukrainians,” Mr. Moore said, adding the action had successfully “brought the war home to ordinary Russians.”

Mr. Burns said Ukraine and its allies always had to be “mindful” of Russia’s nuclear arsenal, but that it should not inhibit policymaking in either Kyiv or Washington. He noted the CIA believed the danger was far greater two years ago, when Russian forces were reeling in retreat after the initial invasion plan broke down.

At President Biden’s request, Mr. Burns revealed that he had passed on a direct warning to Russian intelligence chief Sergey Naryshkin in November 2022 about the consequences of the use of a Russian nuclear device in the war.

“There was a moment in the fall of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,” Mr. Burns said, adding he never believed the prospect was realistic.

“I never thought … we should be unnecessarily intimidated by that,” he said.

The U.S. government announced a new $250 million package for Ukraine on Friday, including air defense munitions, artillery shells, armored vehicles and patrol boats.

But Mr. Zelenskyy was once again pressing for more in a meeting Friday with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and top military officials from some 50 nations backing Ukraine at Germany’s Ramstein Air Base, complaining at one point the Ukrainian forces are operating with “a minimum of weaponry” against larger, better-armed Russian forces in Ukraine’s south and east.

“We need to have these long-range capabilities, not only on occupied territory of Ukraine but also on Russian territory,” Mr. Zelenskyy said, “so that Russia is motivated to seek peace.”

The CIA chief has also emerged as the Biden administration’s top negotiator seeking an elusive cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The U.S. for weeks has suggested a deal — which would also start freeing an estimated 100 Israeli hostages held by Hamas — was imminent, but Mr. Burns said it was still unclear if Israeli and Hamas leaders were willing to take the final leap and agree to a deal.

Mr. Burns said Israel had succeeded in “severely degrading” Hamas’ military operation in the 11 months since the group’s terrorist rampage through southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people.

But he said the drive by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to eradicate Hamas and other Palestinian groups as a threat solely by military means alone would not work.

“You can only kill an idea with a better idea,” he remarked, saying there must be a long-term political solution the Palestinian side could support.

He said the U.S. was working with the governments of Qatar and Egypt on yet more tweaks to the cease-fire plan that could be released “in the next several days.”