US, UK spy chiefs praise Ukraine's 'audacious' Russia incursion and call for Gaza ceasefire
London, Sep 7: The heads of the British and American foreign intelligence agencies said on Saturday that Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russia is a significant achievement that could change the narrative of the grinding 2-1/2-year war, as they urged Kyiv's allies not to be held back by Russian threats of escalation.
Richard Moore, the head of MI6, said Kyiv's surprise August offensive to seize territory in Russia's Kursk region was “typically audacious and bold on the part of the Ukrainians, to try and change the game”.
He said the offensive — which Ukraine said has captured about 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory — had “brought the war home to ordinary Russians”.
Speaking alongside Moore at an unprecedented joint public event in London, CIA Director William Burns said the offensive was a “significant achievement” that had exposed vulnerabilities in the Russian military.
It has yet to be seen whether Ukraine can turn its tactical achievement into a long-term advantage. So far the offensive has not drawn Russian President Vladimir Putin's focus away from eastern Ukraine, where his forces are closing in on the strategically situated city of Pokrovsk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pressed allies to let Kyiv use Western-supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia and hit sites from which Moscow launches aerial attacks.
While some countries, including Britain, are thought to tacitly support the idea, others including Germany and the US are reluctant.
US President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire US-provided missiles into Russia in self-defence, but the distance has been largely limited to cross-border targets deemed a direct threat, out of concerns about further escalating the conflict.
Burns said the West should be “mindful” of the escalation risk but not be “unnecessarily intimidated” by Russian saber-rattling.
Burns also warned of the growing and “troubling” defence relationship between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea that he said threatens both Ukraine and Western allies in the Middle East. North Korea has sent ammunition and missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine, while Iran supplies Moscow with attack drones.
Burns said the CIA had yet to see evidence of China sending weapons to Russia, “but we see lot of things short of that”. And he warned Iran against supplying ballistic missiles to Moscow, saying “it would be a dramatic escalation” of the relationship.
Ahead of their joint appearance at the FT Weekend Festival at London's Kenwood House, the two spymasters wrote an opinion piece for the Financial Times, calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and saying their agencies had “exploited our intelligence channels to push hard for restraint and de-escalation”.
They said a cease-fire in Israel's war against Hamas “could end the suffering and appalling loss of life of Palestinian civilians and bring home the hostages after 11 months of hellish confinement”.
Burns has been heavily involved in efforts to broker an end to the fighting, travelling to Egypt in August for high-level talks aimed at bringing about a hostage deal and at least a temporary halt to the conflict.
So far there has been no agreement, though United States officials insist a deal is close. Biden said recently that “just a couple more issues” remain unresolved. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has said reports of a breakthrough are “exactly inaccurate”.
“I cannot tell you how close we are right now,” Burns told the London audience. He said negotiators are working on new, detailed proposals that would be presented within several days.
Burns said that while 90 per cent of the text has been agreed between the warring sides, “the last 10 per cent is the last 10 per cent for a reason, because it's the hardest part to do”.
Burns said ending the conflict would require “some hard choices and some political compromises” from both Israel and Hamas.
The US and the United Kingdom are both staunch allies of Israel, though London diverged from Washington on Monday by suspending some arms exports to Israel because of the risk they could be used to break international law.
In their article, Burns and Moore stressed the strength of the trans-Atlantic relationship in the face of “an unprecedented array of threats”, including an assertive Russia, an ever-more powerful China and the constant drumbeat of international terrorism — all complicated by rapid technological change.
They highlighted Russia's “reckless campaign of sabotage” across Europe and the “cynical use of technology to spread lies and disinformation designed to drive wedges between us”.
US officials have long accused Moscow of meddling in American elections, and this week the Biden administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged employees of Russian broadcaster RT with covertly funding social media campaigns to pump out pro-Kremlin messages and sow discord around November's presidential contest.
Russia has also been linked by Western officials to several planned attacks in Europe, including an alleged plot to burn down Ukrainian-owned businesses in London.
Moore said Russia's spies were acting in an increasingly desperate and reckless way.
"Russian intelligence has gone a bit feral," he said.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
