Russian President Vladimir Putin has misrepresented his military confidence in the development of the invasion of Ukraine, with intelligence from the United Kingdom and the United States citing fears of a backlash from the Defense Ministry. You did not tell the whole truth.
On February 24, Putin expected what Russia called a “military operation” would be a blitzkrieg campaign that ended in a quick victory. Instead, the conflict continued for weeks, with thousands of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine and much of the military equipment destroyed by the Ukrainian resistance. And nothing happened to Putin.
Several U.S. government sources note that President Putin received biased and optimistic information about the development of the war. The New York Times and US agencies cite information from intelligence services pointing to this.
The Kremlin’s response
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov denied this information And warns that this “complete ignorance” of the situation in Moscow could have “bad consequences.”
“Neither the State Department nor the Pentagon has any real information about what is happening in the Kremlin,” Peskov told reporters. “They do not understand President Putin, they do not understand the decision-making mechanism and they do not understand our work efforts,” he told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
“This complete ignorance leads to wrong decisions, reckless decisions, which will lead to very bad results,” Peskov said.
U.S. and British intelligence say the false news has raised tensions between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Soigu and Putin. Soigu, who was once one of the most trusted figures in the Russian presidency, is now being questioned when Putin knew the true evolution of the campaign.
The defense minister has actually been absent from the media since March 11 and for two weeks, prompting all sorts of speculation. After this weekend, Shoigu returned to appear before the official press to dispel rumors that Putin had fired him.
Following the media leak, the White House held a press conference on Wednesday in which it acknowledged that they were processing this information.
“We have information that Putin felt cheated by the Russian military, which led to constant tensions between Putin and his military leadership,” said Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director.
Putin has placed two top intelligence officials under house arrest for providing “bad” information
The failure of the Russian army on the ground has irreversibly damaged the trust between Putin and his defense minister. According to the NYT, Putin fired two high-ranking intelligence officials for providing “bad” information prior to his incarceration, prompting the military leadership to be afraid to tell him the truth.
“Are you talking about?? Speak clearly!”
The Russian president has sometimes publicly expressed his anger when he does not understand what he wants to hear. We saw one example the day before the invasion of Ukraine. At a meeting with the Security Council on February 21, no one dared to put it on the table. Everyone said what Putin wanted to hear and prepared the ground for the recognition of the invasion of Donetsk and Luhansk republics.
At that meeting, the head of foreign intelligence Sergei Naryshkin spoke about the possibility of recognizing the independence of the Donbass territories “in the worst case.” And that made Putin angry. “What do you mean by ‘worst case’?” Do you suggest we start negotiations? Speak clearly! ”Putin rebuked the humiliating Naryshkin, who began to hesitate in front of the microphone.
In an interview with todaytimeslive.com, CIDOB researcher Carmen Claudine cites this moment as an example of how Putin’s entourage fears her.
“The elite are afraid of Putin and his ability to repress. The Security Council requested that in addition to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s ongoing inspections in Russia, that it monitor Russia’s compliance with “the steps required by the IAEA Board”. He can not speak and at the end of the speech should say, like everyone else, “Yes, President Vladimir Vladimirovich, I support the decision to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.” “A man can not say that and it is so difficult to say that Putin, with all his disgust, is forcing him to repeat this phrase four times,” Claudine explained to todaytimeslive.com journalist Christina Armunia.
The elite are afraid of Putin and his ability to repress
Carmen Claudine
– CIDOB researcher
A high-ranking European diplomat Told Reuters That the radiographs conducted by the US intelligence services are consistent with European analysis. “Putin thought everything was going better than it was. “This is a problem with people who just say yes,” said the diplomat.
According to Reuters, citing intelligence services, Putin ignored the reality in Ukraine to the point that he did not know that they were sending conscripts to war and that many of them, without experience, were being killed in battle.
An EU diplomatic post quoted by the agency as saying that these “poorly trained” recruits had been deceived into taking part in “military exercises” in Ukraine.
Jeremy Fleming, director of the UK’s electronic intelligence agency, spoke to the media in Australia to ensure that “Putin’s advisers are afraid to tell him the truth”. Fleming added that “Russian soldiers who lack weapons and morale and refuse to obey orders” are already visible.
The AP adds that the Russian president’s ignorance will extend to the economic plane as well, and that he would not have been fully informed of the real consequences that Western sanctions have had on the country.
According to BBC security correspondent Gordon Correra, information provided by British and US intelligence may have been coordinated. Correa notes that so far it has been shown that both spy agencies have good information about what is going on inside the Kremlin, and for example, he cites the fact that both of them provided information that an invasion was coming, while Russia officially denied it.
According to the BBC, the aim will be to “stir up tensions” within the Kremlin and focus on the shortcomings they show. If it is true that Putin does not receive realistic information, this, in the opinion of the expert, could lead to the escalation of the conflict and have a negative impact on the negotiations.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in a balloon
Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken assured the media in Algeria that the fact that Putin was receiving biased information was due to the type of power he held.
“One of the Achilles heel of autocracies is that in these systems there are no people who tell the truth to those who wield power. “And I think that’s what we see in Russia,” Blinken said.
A similar experience is not too far off for the US. Former US President Donald Trump’s national security and defense advisers consider him an “incompetent”, “dangerous” and morally unjust judge, according to interviews in the book. RageJournalist Bob Woodward. Woodward also revealed that high-ranking Pentagon advisers and officials publicly agreed with Trump but did not obey his orders.
Source: El Diario
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
