CIA Director Burns says he just returned from his 13th trip to Ukraine, noting the level of importance US has attached to supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression.

He quips President Zelenskyy gave him a ‘free upgrade’ certificate for the train to Kyiv after his 10th trip Of the "elusive" Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, Burns says "it's about leaders...who ultimately have to recognize that enough is enough, that perfect is rarely on the menu - especially in the Middle East." He says "hard choices" are required in the interest of long-term stability

CIA Director Burns, speaking alongside MI6 chief Moore, says "I don't think either of us see direct evidence today as we sit here the provision of weapons and munitions from China to Russia for use in the war effort in Ukraine - but we see lots of things just short of that."

https://twitter.com/ChiefMI6/status/1832371619345334681

Burns declines twice to confirm whether Iran has shipped ballistic missiles to Russia. "All I will say is ... that it would be a dramatic escalation of the nature of that defense partnership."

US has intelligence confirming ISIS claim of responsibility for Moscow attack, per US official. Sources note a steady stream of intel, some highly specific, dating to November of ISIS desire to strike in Russia. US advised Kremlin under Duty to Warn. @margbrennan @CBSDavidMartin .@NSC_Spox: “Earlier this month, the U.S. Government had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow – potentially targeting large gatherings, to include concerts – which prompted the State Department to issue a public advisory to Americans in Russia.” 1/2

The leaders of six major U.S. intelligence agencies set to offer rare public testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee - intelligence.senate.gov Chairman @MarkWarner: "More than 60 countries..will vote this year.  But I am deeply concerned that democracy, including in the United States, is under greater threat than ever.  Bad actors like Russia are particularly incentivized to interfere, given what is at stake in Ukraine"

"We continue to assess that Beijing wants to preserve stability and avoid triggering additional technology restrictions or sanctions from the United States and our partners," DNI Haines says at Senate Armed Services committee hearing on worldwide threats DNI Haines and DIA Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier testifying here: armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-re…

CIA Director William Burns: “I think the president’s decision to selectively and carefully declassify some of our…intelligence has had a very important impact throughout the course of the war” in Ukraine #MSC2023 House Intelligence Committee chairman @RepMikeTurner notes bipartisan, bicameral support for Burns and the IC’s work and gives a notable, amicable shoutout to Ranking Member @jahimes, in attendance

.@VP Kamala Harris announces U.S. has formally determined Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

"In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: These are crimes against humanity." "And I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes and to their superiors who are complicit in those crimes: you will be held to account." - @VP Kamala Harris at #MSC2023

China's Wang Yi says at #MSC2023 Beijing will issue a position paper on Ukraine reiterating President Xi's view that territorial integrity and sovereignty 'must be respected'; nuclear war 'must not be fought' 'We will work with all sides,' Wang Yi says of the Russia/Ukraine conflict, 'until the day peace arrives.'

CIA Director Burns: “China remains the biggest geopolitical challenge the U.S. faces in the decades ahead, and the biggest priority for CIA.”

Says new technologies are the “main arena”for competition with China & the “main determinant of our future as an intelligence service” In Ukraine, CIA's Burns says the next six months will be "critical," with Putin still betting that "political fatigue" will set in across the West. "We do not assess" that Moscow is serious about negotiations

CIA Director William Burns on Putin's meeting with Khamenei: "The reality is that Russians and Iranians need each other right now...but if they need each other, they don't really trust each other, in the sense that they're energy rivals and historical competitors."

https://twitter.com/AspenSecurity/status/1549871734236581894

Burns continued: "It's a reflection in some ways of the deficiencies of Russia's defense industry today, the difficulties they're having after significant losses so far in the war against Ukraine and replenishing their stocks as well."

.@AmbQinGang at @AspenSecurity: "Xinjiang and Hong Kong-related issues are fundamentally not about democracy, human rights, ethnicity or religion. It is about anti-terrorism, anti-secession.. protecting people’s lives.. Xinjiang can never allowed to be another Islamic State.” On Russia/Ukraine, Qin says, "China's stance is fair and objective," noting impacts of the conflict are "spilling over, leading to multiple crises." "What China is calling for is [an] immediate ceasefire, resumption of peace talks; all parties involved should be engaged."

Kirby, citing declassified U.S. intelligence, says Russia is laying the groundwork to annex Ukrainian territory that it controls; Moscow is reviewing detailed plans to add Kherson, Zaporizhzhia & all of Donetsk and Luhansk. No timeline specified but could be as soon as September.

https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1549478181106851842

If Russia proceeds with annexation the US will respond "swiftly and severely," in lockstep with allies, with additional sanctions. "We will never recognize any purportedly annexed territories belonging to Russia."

US also to announce aid to Ukraine that will include more HIMARs.

"Even as President Putin's war continues, we will remain focused on the most serious long-term challenge to the international order - and that's posed by the People's Republic of China," @SecBlinken says in speech outlining Biden admin's China policy.

state.gov Blinken: "Beijing's defense of President Putin's war to erase Ukraine's sovereignty and secure a sphere of influence in Europe should raise alarm bells for all of us who call the Indo-Pacific region home...this is a charged moment for the world."

House Intel Committee convenes a rare hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.

@RepAndreCarson calls UAPs a "potential national security threat."

"[T]hey are real. They need to be investigated. And many threats they pose need to be mitigated."

intelligence.house.gov .@RepRickCrawford: "The challenge associated with UAP is that they are completely unknown and require more expensive collection & analysis efforts..."

The IC must balance addressing known threats with "preventing technical surprise."

"We assess President Putin is preparing for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine, during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas."

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines testifies w DIA Director LTG Scott Berrier on worldwide threats

armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-re… DNI Haines: "Putin most likely also judges that Russia has a greater ability and willingness to endure challenges than his adversaries and he is probably counting on US and EU resolve to weaken as food shortages, inflation and energy prices get worse."

CIA Director William Burns says the US intelligence community had begun to assemble a "detailed and disturbing picture" of Putin's plans for a new major invasion of Ukraine in the early fall of 2021; Putin appeared at the time uncommitted but "defiantly leaning" toward aggression

https://twitter.com/ftlive/status/1522969769456058368

Burns: The second phase of Putin's war - concentrated in the Donbas, east and south - is "at least as risky" and perhaps "even riskier" than the first phase of the conflict

CIA Director William Burns, in public remarks marking one year in office, quips that his wife and daughters tease him for James Bond allusions when, for him, getting the Roku remote to work marks 'the height of technological achievement' - at @GeorgiaTech
Burns says he's proud to lead CIA into a "new era," in a "complicated & contested world" with an adversarial China & a pugnacious & revisionist Russia alongside tech, climate & other challenges.

"CIA will have to reimagine itself to compete successfully in this new age," he says

PDDNI Dr. Stacey Dixon - "There was a window of hope" that declassifying intel on Russia's military plans would "keep them from invading, and it did not."

"What it did do..was alert the world to what was happening," including inuring it to potential disinfo @csis_isp @Smartwomen PDDNI - Experts at ODNI work with intel collectors "to figure out: how sensitive is it, are there other sources that could also have provided the same information?"
There ensues a "rigorous process" to publicly provide details and talking points OK'd by collectors themselves

NATO chief on Bucha: "This is unbearable brutality that Europe has not witnessed in many decades."

"Targeting and murdering civilians is a war crime...all those responsible for these atrocities must be brought to justice."

https://twitter.com/jensstoltenberg/status/1511311951573532677

Stoltenberg: "Moscow has not given up its ambitions in Ukraine. We now see a significant movement of troops away from Kyiv to regroup, rearm and resupply, and shift their focus to the east" - to try to take the entire Donbas and create a land bridge to occupied Crimea

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan: We believe Russia is "revising" its aims, repositioning its forces to concentrate its offensive operations in eastern and parts of southern Ukraine Sullivan: We assess Russia will focus on defeating Ukrainian forces in the "broader Luhansk and Donetsk provinces," which encompasses "significantly more territory" than Russian proxies controlled before the new invasion began in late February

NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg says President Zelenskyy will address world leaders gathering in Brussels tomorrow for an extraordinary meeting of the alliance.

https://twitter.com/NATO/status/1506618548638076932

"I expect leaders will agree to strengthen NATO's posture in all domains, with major increases of forces in the eastern part of the alliance - on land, in the air and at sea," Stoltenberg says, including deployment of 4 new battle groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania & Slovakia