London: The chiefs of the CIA and the British Secret Intelligence Service, appearing together publicly for the first time in the history of their agencies, said in London on Saturday [Sunday AEST] that Ukraine’s surprise offensive in the Kursk region had exposed vulnerabilities in Russia’s military and was an “audacious” effort to “try and change the game” in the war.

“The Kursk offensive is a significant tactical achievement,” said CIA director William Burns. He said it had “put a dent” in the narrative propagated by Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country would grind down Ukraine and exploit divisions in the Western alliance to dictate the terms of a settlement.

Richard Moore, chief of the British service, also known as MI6, said it was “typically bold and audacious on the part of the Ukrainians to try and change the game. I think they have, to a degree, changed the narrative.”

For two of the world’s most powerful spy chiefs, it was a deeply unaccustomed setting: seated next to each other on a sofa, chatting about the most sensitive intelligence issues their agencies face, before an audience gathered by the Financial Times at an annual festival, which features a champagne-tasting tent and panels on subjects such as “How can we justify eating steak?”

Neither Burns nor Moore suggested the Kursk offensive would change the course of the war. Russian troops have continued what Moore described as their “pyrrhic” march through Ukrainian territory. Both warned of dangerous new developments such as Iran’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia, which Burns said would represent a “major escalation”, although he did not confirm published reports that such a transfer of short-range missiles had already occurred.

But Ukraine’s offensive was perhaps the most encouraging development in what Burns and Moore called a geopolitical landscape fraught with risks: from Russian intelligence agents in Europe who Moore said had “gone a bit feral”, to the negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas, which Burns said was now focused on producing a “good enough” proposal.

Both men were intent on showing the collaboration between the CIA and MI6. They pointed to the declassification of intelligence about Russia’s plans to invade Ukraine before the war as an example of how the agencies had worked together – and emerged somewhat from the shadows.

Both men have moved between the worlds of diplomacy and intelligence. Burns, 68, is a career diplomat who came to the CIA after serving as deputy secretary of state and ambassador to Russia. Moore, 61, came up as an intelligence officer before being appointed ambassador to Turkey.