Putin is in a very, very difficult situation - Former CIA director calls for increased pressure on Russia

David Petraeus, Former Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), believes that Washington should increase pressure on Moscow, which is currently facing several economic and military troubles.

Source: Petraeus in an interview with CNN

Details: According to the former CIA director, "Putin is in a very, very difficult situation" considering the attempted mutiny of the Wagner group and economic sanctions; therefore, the United States needs "to continue to tighten the screws".

Petraeus added that Russia is "bleeding on the battlefield", but also suffering great losses "in the economy, the home front". "It has not been as bad as a lot of us hoped it would be. Still, they are in trouble on the home front," he said.

Among other things, the general cited the growth of Russia's budget deficit, the exit from Russia of more than 1,000 large Western companies, including large oil-producing companies, and the termination of a large part of trade with Europe.

Brain drain is also a serious problem for the Putin regime. "They’ve lost hundreds of thousands of their best and brightest — who no longer wanted to live in a country that is a global pariah," Petraeus said.

The former director of the CIA called for more active countermeasures against Russia's evasion of sanctions, in particular to minimise the export of technology through third countries.

"This is a real cat-and-mouse game. It takes enormous perseverance and attention to detail… We have to continue to stay after it — and I’m confident we will," he concluded.

Background: According to the American side, exports of key microchips and electronics needed by Russia for its military industry have returned to 2022 levels as Russia has learned to circumvent better sanctions imposed against it.

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