CIA chief secretly visited Kiev last week and told Zelensky about Russia's plans

This was reported by The Washington Post citing its sources.

The journalists noted that the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, arrived in Ukraine to talk to Zelenskyy and spoke about his expectations regarding Russia's military plans in the coming weeks and months.

During the meeting, Zelensky and the intelligence officials talked about how long Ukraine can count on US and Western assistance.

So far, U.S. support for Ukraine remains fairly strong, and the $45 billion in funding approved in December will last until July or August. However, Kiev is not very confident that Congress will vote for another multibillion-dollar aid package.

Republicans in Congress are in favour of arming Ukraine. At the same time, many conservatives say they want to cut US spending, with billions of dollars in military spending in particular.

A CIA spokesman who spoke to the US publication declined to give a characterisation of what Burns conveyed to Zelensky about Russian military planning.

Ukrainian and Russian forces are currently engaged in an intense war of attrition in eastern Ukraine around Bakhmut, a town of relatively little strategic importance but one that has acquired symbolic significance for both sides, particularly Russia, which has not captured a single major Ukrainian town since last summer.

Military analysts expect that a surge in fighting this spring could determine the trajectory of the war.