WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about Russian forces’ performance in Ukraine, according to a U.S. official.
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The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday to discuss the recently declassified intelligence finding, said that Putin has felt misled by the Russian military and there is now persistent tension between him and senior Russian defense officials.
The official did not detail underlying evidence for how U.S. intelligence made the determination.
But the intel community has concluded that Putin was unaware that the military had been using and losing conscripts in Ukraine. They also have determined Putin is not fully aware of the extent to which the Russian economy is being damaged by economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and allies.
The findings demonstrate a “clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information” to Putin, and show that Putin’s senior advisers are “afraid to tell him the truth,” the official said.
The new intelligence comes after the White House on Tuesday expressed skepticism about Russia’s public announcement that it would dial back operations near Kyiv in an effort to increase trust in ongoing talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Turkey.
“We’ll see,” Biden said about that announcement. “I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are.”
Russian forces pounded areas around Ukraine’s capital and another city overnight, regional leaders said Wednesday.
White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said the administration views any movement of Russian forces as a “redeployment and not a withdrawal” and “no one should be fooled by Russia’s announcement.”
Biden was to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments in the war.
Putin has long been seen outside Russia as insular and surrounded by officials who don’t always tell him the truth. U.S. officials have said publicly they believe that limited flow of information –- possibly exacerbated by Putin’s heightened isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic -– may have given the Russian president unrealistic views of how quickly he could overrun Ukraine.
The Biden administration before the war launched an unprecedented effort to publicize what it believed were Putin’s invasion plans, drawing on intelligence findings. While Russia still invaded, the White House was widely credited with drawing attention to Ukraine and pushing initially reluctant allies to back tough sanctions that have hammered the Russian economy.
But underscoring the limits of intelligence, the U.S. also underestimated Ukraine’s will to fight before the invasion, said Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, in recent testimony before Congress.
The US military and intelligence are b’chezkas shakranim. Time and time again they have lied to us; there is no reason to just accept their word as truth. Likewise, the US news media are b’chezkas shakranim. It amazes me how some of my friends who recognize the news media’s constant lies of the past 5 years, for some reason, readily accept the same news media’s reporting of Russia’s war in Ukraine as fact. (The pipeline of US intel officials who now go from their government jobs to work in news media has solidified them as the conjoined twins of Sheker: US intel agencies and the US news media).
When people who are b’chezkas shakranim say things, obviously its possible that some of what they say is indeed true. Sometimes you know immediately that its a lie, sometimes you can tell its probably true. Much of the time you can’t tell, or you just have to go with your gut.
This story? Maybe yes, maybe no.
He doesn;’t read the wetsern news? It sounds odd. I’d read what the enemy was saying. How could you not know in the 21st century?
or, maybe the US public is being lied to about how ineffective financial sanctions have been in damaging the Russian economy or lying about the success of the Ukrainian military defense.
I don’t believe that bad news can be hidden from Putin. He is not Saddam. He knows things aren’t good for him. If you have to muzzle your press, you know there are negative news stories out there.
Putin unlike Beijing Joe is NOT senile, he knows everything but he doesnt care
Same US Intelligence that said Iraq has WMD. Same US Intelligence that said the Iran deal would be good?
Right — the intelligence services that lied about WMD in Iraq , lied about Trump and help undermine governments elsewhere.
That’s the price you pay when you consider yourself smarter & superior than everyone else and not ready to listen to others advice.
same intelligence who liked about WMD’s and didnt know about 911/al qaeda
Maybe he was lied to. Maybe he is not really all that bright. One must consider both possibilities.
Like him or hate him , Putin is the smartest leader out there.
Berl Lazar misled him