Former CIA director on Putin expanding the war beyond Ukraine | The Economist

People are talking. about a post-Putin future. They’re talking about “his war, not our war”. Influencers are coming out. and laying out grievances. and on and on and on. How do you interpret. all of these signals? I think those pressures. are beginning to build. Not to the point, at least in my judgment, that it affects Putin's grip. on that society. He’s still pretty good. at one thing, which is repressing people. and discouraging anyone. who might think otherwise. But whereas, I think, if we’d had. this conversation a year ago, my view would. have been Putin's feeling.

entirely too cocky, that time is on his side, he can grind down. the Ukrainians. Now, I think, for a number of Russians. in the elite and outside it, they're beginning to question. that as well. I do think Putin and. the people around him. are beginning to feel. some greater pressures. to negotiate more seriously, whether that's. going to emerge. next month. or six months from now, it's hard to say. But, I think, in my view. it's an argument. for keeping up the pressure. on Putin, both economically.

and also in terms of support. for the Ukrainians. on the battlefield. I mean, he’s a. very unsentimental person. That's the only thing that's. going to drive him. to negotiate more seriously. So as that pressure grows, one prospect is. his calculus changes. and he's willing. to come to the table seriously. There is another side of that. which is the risk. he feels cornered, a little bit more desperate. So we're seeing this concern. that Russia is perhaps. paving the way for escalation again. Do you think. that is a real risk. or is that overblown,

given that Russia's weakened. but not desperate? I think it's always a mistake. to take. lightly that kind of. a possibility. My own view is that. this is meant more to coerce, to create the image. that Putin is prepared, whether it's to strike. with little green men. or something else. in the Baltic states. So I think we have to take it. seriously, but not be. intimidated by it. because I think the key here. is to keep up. pressure on the Russians. to produce a circumstance.

in which. a more serious. negotiation is possible. One which holds. the possibility of a more. just outcome for Ukraine.