Western intelligence services are still expecting a split within the Russian elite and internal destabilization in the country, according to statements by the head of the British intelligence service MI6, Richard Moore, and the director of the CIA, William Burns, at the FTWeekend festival in London, organized by the newspaper The Financial Times.
Richard Moore and William Burns believe that the invasion of the Kursk region by the Ukrainian Armed Forces raised “questions among the Russian elite” about the meaning of the war and “where it will lead.” At the same time, there are no signs at the moment that the authorities will Vladimir Putin weakened, the heads of Western intelligence agencies stressed.
“But it would be a mistake to confuse a strong grip on power with a stable grip. Moreover, the Kursk offensive turned the conflict into the property of ordinary Russians.” – Moore said, as quoted by Strana.
According to him, it is “too early” to say how long Ukrainian troops will be able to control the Russian territory they occupy.
This is the first time that the heads of MI6 and the CIA have appeared together at a public event in the history of their 77-year intelligence-sharing partnership, notes The Financial Times. Moore and Burns were driven to act as a duo by the threat facing the “world order.” Moreover, they pointed out that the main danger was not Russia and the Middle East, but the strengthening of China.
“The international world order is under threat in a way we have not seen since the Cold War,” the intelligence chiefs said in a joint article published yesterday in the Financial Times.
Addressing this risk, they said, “is at the heart of our special relationship, one on which we can rely for the next century.”
