CIA boss says west should not be intimidated by Russia’s nuclear threats

The CIA director, Bill Burns (right), was speaking at an FT Weekend festival in London alongside Britain’s MI6 chief, Richard Moore (left). Photograph: Em Fitzgerald/Reuters

Western leaders should not be intimidated by Kremlin threats of nuclear escalation, the head of the CIA said on Saturday, amid a debate over whether Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles should be used inside Russia.

Bill Burns, on a visit to London alongside the head of MI6, said the US had brushed off a previous Russian nuclear scare in autumn 2022, demonstrating that threats from Moscow should not always be taken literally.