Putin's decision to go on an offensive against Ukraine and launch a military campaign in Syria was based on the assertion that he would see no symmetrical military response, ex-CIA director (2013-2017) John Brennan said in an interview with PBS Frontline, Voice of America reports.
“Mr. Putin is, I think, a very cunning individual, and he really takes the measure of his adversaries and opponents. When he moved into Ukraine, I do believe he felt as though, if he did it with great emphasis and force, that it was not going to engender a military response on the part of the West. I do think he felt that, certainly toward the last four years of the Obama administration, that there was a predictability as far as Washington’s reaction, and I think he recognized that President Obama was reluctant to engage in military conflicts, and therefore, would use other instruments of U.S. power—sanctions, for example,” John Brennan told PBS Frontline.
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He went on to say that, figuratively speaking, Putin needed “to get his nose bloodied” in response to his moves.
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In August 2016, Brennan first warned President Obama that Vladimir Putin had ordered an operation to disrupt and discredit the race for president between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.