Ex-Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen: Putin 'Cornered And Boxed In' With Ukraine War

Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves Red Square after the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2022. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)Admiral Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Sunday said Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is “cornered” in his war with Ukraine, and that the conflict will be a long one.

In an interview on ABC News’ “This Week,”Mullen warned nuclear weapons “are a part of Putin’s arsenal.”

“He’s pretty well cornered and boxed in so we would certainly have to consider it’s a possible action he can take” in the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine that began Feb. 24.

“I think we’re in for a long one,” Mullen added. “It’s going to be bloody. It’s going to be visible. It’s going to be what war is. I think we’ll see Putin continue to devastate the infrastructure, with respect to how he approaches it, the long-range weapons. I think what we’ve done to supply [Ukraine] has been extraordinary, quite frankly. And we need to continue to do that.”

According to Mullen, it was encouraging that at least Putin was not publicly opposed to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

“What strikes me about Finland and Sweden is how deeply neutral they had been for decades and decades and how concerned they obviously are with this threat that has now been generated by Putin,” he said.

He said he’s also heartened by “the unity of NATO.”