Putin has "paranoid fear" of West limiting Russian power, US intelligence says

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is "paranoid" about the West's supposed intention to limit Russia's power in the world, leading him to spend historically record amounts on the militarisation of the country.

Source: Voice of America, citing Avril Haines, Director of the US National Intelligence Agency, at a hearing in the US Congress on 2 May

Quote: "Putin continues to judge that Russia is under threat and almost certainly assumes that a larger, better-equipped military will drive that point home to Western and domestic audiences. 

Putin’s strategic goals also remain unchanged. He continues to see NATO enlargement and Western support to Ukraine as reinforcing his long-held belief that the United States and Europe seek to restrict Russia."

Details: The official believes that there is "a certain paranoia associated with this".

At the same time, she believes that NATO's actions are actually aimed at reassuring Russia of the opposite, but Putin's decisions have accelerated events he was trying to avoid, including the expansion of the alliance when Finland and Sweden, which had remained neutral for decades, joined NATO.

Haines explained that the Kremlin leader has increased defence spending to almost 7% of Russia's GDP, which is almost twice the historical average. The Russian defence budget currently accounts for about 25% of all federal spending.

Background: Avril Haines has also predicted that Russia would resort to more aggressive tactics in the war against Ukraine.

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