In November 2021, CIA Director William Burns was tasked with warning Russian President Vladimir Putin about the implications of invading Ukraine, following intelligence reports indicating such a plan was in motion. Despite previous accessibility as the US ambassador to Moscow, Burns found a more paranoid and isolated Putin, necessitating a phone call instead of an in-person meeting due to tight security and the Russian leader's increasingly insular nature since the onset of Covid-19. The intelligence gathered by the CIA and MI6 highlighted serious concerns about Putin’s military movements, but many global leaders remained sceptical about the legitimacy of these warnings. This disbelief, compounded by past intelligence failures and a general underestimation of Putin's ambitions, created a dangerous lull in preparedness among Western nations that could have exacerbated the situation. Leaders struggled to grasp the gravity of the risk, thereby missing crucial opportunities to deter aggression effectively. The article underscores the dichotomy between the intelligence community's insights and the public political narrative. Although the intelligence was clear, translating that into political action was fraught with challenges, leading to a profound international response when the invasion eventually occurred, highlighting the critical role intelligence plays in global security.