US Department of Defense Intelligence Agency Prepares Report on Global Threats in 2021 for Senate Hearings.

Reported by Radio Liberty.

The report focuses on the threats posed by China and Russia to the United States and its allies..

The document says that the world is going through an era of " In addition to military measures, we are talking about actions in the "

The Russian armed forces are named in the document as a potential threat to the very existence of the United States, as well as a tool to support influence in countries along the perimeter of Russian borders, with which Moscow can challenge Washington's global leadership..

" Moscow uses a range of political, economic, diplomatic, intelligence, public and military means, while avoiding direct conflict, in order to compete with the West, "

The report details the modernization of nuclear and non-nuclear Russian forces. In particular, Russia is expected to significantly increase its nuclear arsenal in the coming years through non-strategic means.. It mentions that Russia appears to have a stockpile of undeclared chemical weapons, such as the Novichok nerve agent, which allegedly poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

It is noted that Russia did not dare to directly intervene in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in Belarus, but is trying to maintain influence in the region by other methods - in particular, the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh is regarded as an increase in Moscow's influence in the Caucasus.

The threat of military force remains the main lever of Russia's influence on Ukraine.

The authors of the report conclude that at the moment Russia is unlikely to be interested in a direct clash with the United States, but it will not give up its confrontation with the West..

" Special attention in the report is paid to Russia's attempts to influence the internal politics of its neighbors and NATO member countries, as well as an information campaign against the background of the coronavirus epidemic, "