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CIA Director William Burns<\/a> believes 2024 will be an endurance test for Kyiv, since Russian dictator Vladimir Putin<\/a><\/span><\/span> has not abandoned his plans to subjugate Ukraine, Burns wrote in an article for Foreign Affairs on Jan. 30.<\/span><\/p>\n In the article, he said that Putin remains fixated on establishing control over Ukraine. Without this control, the dictator \u201cbelieves it is impossible for Russia to be a great power or for him to be a great Russian leader.\u201d<\/p>\n Read also:<\/b><\/p>\n The CIA chief notes that at least 315,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the war in Ukraine, and that Russia has lost two-thirds of its battle tanks.<\/p>\n Read also:<\/b> Ukraine prioritizes F-16s for air force modernization, explores other Western aircraft options <\/a><\/p>\n Additionally, Putin’s \u201cdecades-long\u201d program for military modernization in Russia has failed.<\/p>\n \u201cAll this is a direct result of Ukrainian soldiers\u2019 valor and skill, backed up by Western support,\u201d said Burns.<\/p>\n He also mentioned the problems in the Russian economy, which continues to experience “long-term setbacks,” while Moscow gradually becoming an economic vassal to Beijing.<\/p>\n Burns added that it will also be challenging for Ukraine to continue the fight and urged continued Western support.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year is likely to be a tough one on the battlefield in Ukraine, a test of staying power whose consequences will go well beyond the country\u2019s heroic struggle to sustain its freedom and independence,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n We\u2019re bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support<\/a> us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron<\/a>! <\/i> <\/b><\/p>\n Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n