The country's top intelligence official spoke at a Senate hearing Tuesday, and the updates she provided on the Ukraine invasion weren't encouraging. US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines painted Vladimir Putin as digging in his heels and "preparing for a prolonged conflict," suspecting he'll be able to outlast those coming to Ukraine's aid. Putin "is probably counting on US and EU resolve to weaken as food shortages, inflation, and energy shortages get worse," she said. Haines predicts things could grow more "unpredictable and escalatory" in the coming months.
- One takeaway: The Washington Post reports Haines' remarks "add weight to forecasts that the war in Ukraine will drag on and predictions that the broader effects, such as inflation, will not go away quickly."