US Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner has avoided directly criticizing President Biden’s statement on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “can not stay in power,” instead focusing on Putin, saying: “There is a person “Vladimir Putin is trying to change the regime in Ukraine.” Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash about the state of the Union if he believes US policy should be about regime change, Warner said: “The stated policy is what the White House wants and that has not changed. “The Russian people to determine who will be in power in the Kremlin.” MP Michael McCaul, head of Republicans in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was more dynamic in an interview shortly afterwards on the show, saying “I know it was closed, but whatever the President says has a lot to do with it. “In this case, it sends a very provocative message to Putin.” Warner said he was surprised that Russia did not launch “Group A cyber-attacks against Ukraine,” which Warner called “top.” Asked why he thinks they have not, Warner said: “We honestly do not have a good answer yet,” adding, “I do not think it is a lack of capacity, but it is a question we keep asking.” Asked if cyber attacks would invoke NATO Article 5, Warner said: “There have been cyber attacks from Russia and China on a daily basis for years,” but added that if a cyber attack results in loss of life, it would is “uncharted ground”. “As for the literal cause of loss of life, there has always been what we call strategic ambiguity about what constitutes a violation of Article Five. I think it is still a fitting gray at this point.”
