Bill Burns calls Vladimir Putin a ‘bully’ whose ‘sabre-rattling’ should not always be taken literally

Western leaders should not be intimidated by Kremlin threats of nuclear escalation, the head of the CIA said on Saturday, and be willing to consider allowing Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles to be used inside Russia.

Bill Burns, on a visit to London alongside the head of MI6, said the US had brushed off a previous Russian nuclear scare in autumn 2022, demonstrating that threats from Moscow should not always be taken literally.

“Putin’s a bully. He’s going to continue to sabre rattle from time to time,” Burns said. “We cannot afford to be intimidated by that sabre rattling … we got to be mindful of it. The US has provided enormous support for Ukraine, and I’m sure the president will consider other ways in which we can support them.”

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  • cygnusEnglish
    151·
    9 days ago

    They need to be making more progress on peace talks. It’s unacceptable this war has gone on for this long and killed this many people.

    Vatnik-tier opinion. No need to waste anybody’s time on a serious reply.

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      12·
      9 days ago

      Exactly: “more progress on peace talks” in this context is just a tankie dog-whistle for “capitulating to Russia’s land-grabbing.”

      • InternetUser2012@lemmy.todayEnglish
        41·
        9 days ago

        They’re getting their supplies from North Korea… It won’t be long until they’re fighting with sticks.