Putin seeking goals beyond Ukraine’s east: US intelligence chief

US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines says Putin 'would probably only authorise the use of nuclear weapons if he perceived an existential threat to the Russian state or regime' [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]

Russian President Vladimir Putin is still looking to achieve military objectives beyond eastern Ukraine after failing to capture Kyiv in the early stages of the war, the US intelligence chief has said.

Speaking to US lawmakers on Tuesday, Avril Haines, the US director of national intelligence, said the shifting of Russian military operations to Ukraine’s Donbas region in the east is only temporary.