"The paranoid fear" of Russian president Vladimir Putin of supposed Western attempts to limit Russia's power has led to spending approximately 25% of the state budget of the Russian Federation on militarization, said National Intelligence Director of the United States, Avril Haines.
This was reported by Voice of America.
Such assessments were made during hearings in the US Congress on May 2.
Haines noted that NATO's efforts were aimed at ensuring the opposite - that the West does not threaten Russia, yet Putin himself accelerated "events he tried to avoid" by his own decisions. This refers to the accession of neighboring Finland and Sweden to NATO.
The intelligence chief is confident that Putin continues to believe in the existence of a threat to Russia and believes that increasing militarization "will convey this message to Western and domestic audiences."
Senator Angus King inquired about how to convince Putin that NATO is not an aggressive bloc and does not intend to invade Russia. In the senator's opinion, Russian intelligence services are inherently a "paranoid organization."
"Yes, I agree with you that there is a certain paranoia associated with this, he (Putin) truly believes that the security of his country is to some extent under threat," Haines replied.
According to her information, the strategic goals of the Russian dictator also remain unchanged – he continues to view NATO expansion and support for Ukraine as confirmation of his belief in the desire of the United States and Europe to "limit Russia's power."
Furthermore, Haines noted that Putin is trying to capitalize on global events, such as the escalation of conflict between Israel and Hamas, "to divide us from our allies."
Putin currently believes that domestic and international events are unfolding in his favor, the head of National Intelligence reported. She predicts that Moscow's aggressive tactics will continue, and the war is unlikely to end anytime soon.
In pursuit of this continuation, the dictator is willing to spend increasingly more budgetary funds.
"Putin has increased defense spending to nearly 7% of Russia's GDP, which is almost twice the historical average," said Haines, adding that currently Russia's defense budget accounts for approximately 25% of all federal expenditures.
