The Pentagon believes that President Vladimir Putin's forces in Ukraine will not be able to achieve their primary goals.
US officials said on Friday (September 16) that Putin sent troops to Ukraine to oust the Western-friendly Ukrainian government. At the start of the war, Ukrainian forces drove out Russian fighters stationed around the Ukrainian capital. Russia suffered another major blow last week when a Ukrainian counter-offensive forced Russian troops to withdraw from large parts of northeastern Ukraine.
Regarding whether Putin could use weapons of mass destruction in the war, David Coyne, the deputy director of the US intelligence agency, said, "We should not underestimate the fact that Putin's main goal is to control Ukraine." There is no reason to believe that Putin has deviated from his goals.
A meeting was held between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The two leaders met on the last day of the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 22nd Summit on Friday (September 16).
