First US intel admission of Russian advances in Ukraine

“The Russians aren’t winning and the Ukrainians aren’t winning and we’re in a bit of a stalemate here,” said Lt-Gen Scott Berrier, DIA chief at the Pentagon on Thursday. However, Scott Avril Haines, National Intelligence Director, speaking alongside him, maintained that the Russian forces’ advance in Donbass portends their complete control of East Ukraine. They are now massing units in Luhansk in an effort to capture Snake Island on the Black Sea and so attain full control of the northern stretch of that sea, according to Haines. This is the first time that US intelligence officials admit to Russian territorial gains in the Ukraine war and allow that their army’s performance shows improvement.