CIA Director William Burns warned on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin could "double down" on harsh tactics to give his nation an upper hand in its invasion of Ukraine.
Burns' comments come as Russia begins the second phase of its war in Ukraine, concentrating its attacks on the Donbas region.
Burns says that the redirection of Russia's forces is "at least as risky" while possibly being "even riskier" than the first two months of its invasion.
"I think Putin has staked a lot on this second phase of what is an incredibly ugly and brutal offensive against the Ukrainians," Burns said during a public event in Washington, D.C.
He continued saying that Putin is most likely trying "to adapt to some of the lessons from the failures of the first phase."
Burns was speaking at a question-and-answer session held at the Financial Times' Weekend Festival, where he warned that Putin is looking at the war as if he "doesn't believe he can afford to lose."
"I think he's convinced right now that doubling down still will enable him to make progress," Burns said.
John Kirby said earlier this week that Russian forces were "behind schedule" as they continue to struggle to take over the Donbas region.
The Pentagon spokesman said this is in part due to the "stiff Ukrainian resistance" Russian forces have met, which are being bolstered by the West.
The question of whether or not Russia will use nuclear weapons is also still in play. Burns said there was no indication of a date of imminent deployment of such weaponry being used, but he said the intelligence community "can't take lightly those possibilities."
"We don't see, as an intelligence community, practical evidence at this point of Russian planning for deployment or even potential use of tactical nuclear weapons," Burns said.
An audience member asked Burns whether the intelligence community thinks rumors around Putin being ill are true, but he declined to comment.
"Having talked before about how it's not a smart idea to talk in public about intelligence, I'll just return to that," Burns said. "That's not something I have much to offer on."
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