The Heads of the US Intelligence Community announced on Tuesday that Vladimir Putin could intensify his attacks in Ukraine, despite the military failures and economic difficulties caused by the international sanctions, Voice of America ​​reports.

“Our analysts believe that Putin is unlikely to contain such setbacks, that he could aggravate the situation,” said Avril Haines, director of the National Intelligence, at an annual meeting of the House Intelligence Committee.

With such high tensions, there is always the “potential for unintentional escalation,” Haines said. He stated that intelligence analysts had not noticed any changes in Russia’s nuclear policy, except for the changes found during previous international crises.

“We have not seen a change in (Moscow’s) position on the nuclear issue, more than we have seen in times of escalating tensions,” Haynes said.

“I think Putin is angry and upset now. He will probably redouble his efforts to try to defeat the Ukrainian army, regardless of the number of civilian casualties,” CIA Director William Burns said. He noted that the United States is actively exchanging intelligence with Ukraine.

Burns also said that he and the CIA analysts do not see how Putin can achieve his goals – to seize Kiev and to replace the government of Volodymyr Zelensky with a pro-Moscow puppet leadership.

According to the Head of the Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Defense, General Scott Berrier, according to preliminary estimates, the number of Russian servicemen killed so far during the invasion of Ukraine could be between 2,000 and 4,000.