Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard disputed U.S. intelligence assessments regarding Russia’s Ukraine objectives, creating friction as peace negotiations advance.
Intelligence Assessment Contradiction
On Saturday, Gabbard posted on X that, according to U.S. intelligence, Russia cannot conquer Ukraine or invade Europe, and she claimed that assertions to the contrary were attempts to undermine President Donald Trump‘s efforts to bring peace. She added that intelligence officers had briefed lawmakers that Russia seeks to avoid a larger war with Europe.
Former presidential candidate wrote on X that Russia “does not even have the capability to conquer and occupy Ukraine, what to speak of ‘invading and occupying’ Europe.”
In response to Gabbard’s post, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a close friend of President Vladimir Putin, said she is “great not only for documenting the Obama/Biden origins of the Russia hoax, but now for exposing the deep-state warmonger machinery.”
Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources, that U.S. intelligence from late September indicates Putin has not given up his goal of seizing all of Ukraine and reclaiming former Soviet territories.
Peace Framework
Trump’s negotiators, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his longtime friend Steve Witkoff, have been advancing a 20-point peace plan. Russia currently controls approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory.
At a press conference, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday: “I don’t know if Putin wants to do a deal or Putin wants to take the whole country.”
Intelligence Agency Tensions Surface
Earlier this year, Gabbard announced a major overhaul of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, cutting more than 40% of its workforce and eliminating hundreds of jobs, saying the agency had become ‘bloated, inefficient’ and rife with abuse of power and unauthorized leaks.
In May, a Defense Intelligence Agency employee was arrested for allegedly attempting to share classified U.S. intelligence with a foreign government because he was ‘disturbed‘ by Trump’s actions, highlighting internal tensions within the intelligence community.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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