In November 2021, CIA Director William Burns flew to Moscow to deliver a warning to Vladimir Putin: invade Ukraine, and the consequences would be devastating. But Putin refused to meet in person. Holed up at his Black Sea residence, he would only take a phone call.
As "Hvylya" reports, citing a major investigation by The Guardian journalist Shaun Walker based on over 100 interviews with intelligence, military, and diplomatic insiders across multiple countries, the conversation went badly. Putin ignored Burns's message and instead complained about a US warship he claimed was lurking over the Black Sea horizon, capable of hitting his location in minutes.
Three combative face-to-face meetings with Putin's top security officials only deepened Burns's alarm. He left Moscow far more concerned about the prospect of war than when he arrived.
"Biden often asked yes/no questions, and when I got back, he asked if I thought Putin was going to do it," Burns recalled. "I said: 'Yes'."
Three and a half months later, Russian tanks crossed the Ukrainian border. The intelligence success that preceded the invasion - and the spectacular failure to convince allies it was coming - would reshape how the West thinks about threats for years to come. The staggering cost of the war Putin launched has since exceeded all expectations. We previously reported on how the Kremlin has since resorted to nuclear blackmail as conventional options narrowed.