Ukraine’s Kursk attack has raised suspicions among Russian elite, intelligence officials say
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Ukraine’s Kursk offensive is damaging Russia’s war narrative and raising questions among Russia’s elite, top intelligence chiefs say.
Speaking at the Financial Times Weekend in London on Saturday alongside MI6 chief Richard Moore, CIA director Bill Burns said Kursk was “a major tactical achievement” that boosted Ukrainian morale and exposed Russian weakness. He said it had “raised questions… among the Russian elite about where this is all headed”.
Moore said it was “a typically bold and daring move by the Ukrainians… to try to change the game.”
It is the first time the two heads have appeared together at a public event in the agencies’ 77-year intelligence-sharing partnership, and is the latest move by the British and US intelligence agencies to come out of the shadows to better warn the countries they serve about the growing dangers facing the world.
Burns and Moore said the purpose of their joint appearance was to highlight the strength of the UK-US relationship at a time of unprecedented global risk.
Domestic political instability, Russia’s war in Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East, the rise of China and rapid technological change all mean the international world order is “under threat in a way we have not seen since the Cold War,” the two leaders wrote in a joint statement. joint editorial published in FT on Saturday.
“Successfully combating this risk is the foundation of our special relationship,” they wrote.
They identified China as “the principal intelligence and geopolitical challenge of the 21st century” and said they were “working tirelessly to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza” and “disrupt the reckless campaign of sabotage across Europe being waged by Russian intelligence.”
Asked whether Russian intelligence was aiding illegal migration across the Mexican border, Burns said: “That’s something we’re very focused on. Part of that is because of the function of a lot of Russian spies. [being] kicked out of Europe. So they are looking for somewhere to go instead.”
Asked if there was a deal to release Israeli hostages held in Gaza, Burns replied: “It comes down to whether leaders on both sides are willing to admit that enough is enough, and that it’s time for me to make some hard choices. I can’t sit here with all of you today and say that a deal will work, nor can I tell you that we’re very close right now.”
Burns said the deal between Israel and Hamas was “90 percent” complete but the “last 10 percent” was always the most difficult part.
Burns, 68, is a career diplomat who now works as a spy, and Moore, 61, is a career intelligence officer who formerly served as a diplomat. Both are Oxford graduates and have had parallel professional lives working on Russian, Middle Eastern and Asian issues.
The closest event comparable to the general performance on Saturday was a press conference held by Ken McCallumThe head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5, and his US counterpart, Christopher Wray, head of the FBI, in London in July 2022.
