Putin’s misinformed on Ukraine.
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American officials said that Putin’s strict isolation during the pandemic and willingness to publicly castigate advisers had contributed to him getting incomplete or overly optimistic reports about the progress of Russian forces, apparently leaving him genuinely unaware that the Russian military had been using conscripts in Ukraine or that drafted soldiers were among those killed in action.
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WASHINGTON — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has been misinformed by his advisers about the Russian military’s struggles in Ukraine, according to declassified U.S. intelligence.
The intelligence, according to multiple U.S. officials, shows what appears to be growing tension between Mr. Putin and the Ministry of Defense, including with the Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, who was once among the most trusted members of the Kremlin’s inner circle.
Speaking in Algiers, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken acknowledged Mr. Putin had been given less than truthful information from his advisers....
In a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, a Pentagon spokesman, John F. Kirby, said that the Defense Department believed that Mr. Putin has not had access to an accurate account of his army’s failures in Ukraine.
“We would concur with the conclusion that Mr. Putin has not been fully informed by his Ministry of Defense, at every turn over the last month,” Mr. Kirby said.
“If Mr. Putin is misinformed or uninformed about what’s going on inside Ukraine, it’s his military, it’s his war, he chose it,” Mr. Kirby said. “And so the fact that...he may not fully understand the degree to which his forces are failing in Ukraine, that’s a little discomforting, to be honest with you.”
Both points are true. The most important thing is that Ukraine is, like, an independent country. Putin knew that. He knew that he invaded an independent country. It is, I would say, very "discomforting" that he didn't know his army was getting shot up.
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Putin seemed genuinely unaware that the Russian military had been using conscripts in Ukraine, and that drafted soldiers were among those killed in action, according to the U.S. officials. Mr. Putin’s ignorance showed “a clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information to the Russian president,” according to a U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the declassified, but still sensitive, material. There “is now persistent tension” between Mr. Putin and the Defense Ministry, the official said.
The American intelligence assessment also said that Putin had an incomplete understanding about how damaging Western sanctions had been on the Russian economy, officials said.
This is shocking, absolutely shocking. All of it.
With evidence of Mr. Putin’s frustration growing, the United States has in recent weeks been building up an intelligence case that he had not been getting accurate assessments from the Ministry of Defense and other senior officials.
What does that mean, "been building up an intelligence case"? It suggests they're making a case on some intel while ignoring other.
The U.S. officials believe that Mr. Putin is continuing to be misled and that senior advisers are unwilling to tell the truth.
I am growing a little skeptical of this. Do you mean to tell me that Vladimir Putin does not have access to the BBC, to The Times of London, the New York Times, CNN, even Fox? Does he not have a fucking TV?
...Russian forces announced a shift in their posture around Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, on Tuesday...It is...possible that the shifting strategy is a sign of dysfunction and miscommunication in the upper ranks of the Russian Defense Ministry.
