Fifteen months after he ordered the Russian military to invade Ukraine, there are no signs of weakening Russian President Vladimir Putin, at least according to German intelligence.

These are subtle cracks in what BND chief Bruno Kahl described on Monday as Mr. Putin’s system during a speech at the Federal Academy for Political Security (BACS) in Berlin.

Russia is still always in a position to “fight a long-term war” thanks in part to the hundreds of thousands of conscripts who have joined its armed forces, Mr. Kahl warned, which also applies to the country’s arms and ammunition production.

When asked when exactly the BND knew that Russia would start a war against Ukraine, its head replied that “about 14 days before the start of the conflict, we observed phenomena for which there was absolutely no other explanation.”

Mr. Kahl dismissed criticism that the US and British intelligence agencies predicted the attack earlier than the German one, explaining that such estimates were made after analyzing each other’s observations.

The BND, for its part, stressed that the decision to attack would be made by President Putin. The Kremlin occupier made the decision after weighing many factors, Mr. Kahl concluded, adding ironically that they probably didn’t include sitting around “counting rockets and tanks.”

Source: RES-IPE