Vladimir Putin he is misinformed about the development of the war in Ukraine and his relations with his general staff have deteriorated, the White House said Wednesday based on declassified intelligence reports.
“We have information that Putin believes he was misled by the Russian military, which has caused ongoing tension with his staff,” US Presidential Communications Director Kate Bedingfield told a news conference.
“One of the Achilles heels of the autocracies is that in these systems there is no longer anyone who tells the truth to the power in power, or who has the possibility to do so. And I think that is a phenomenon that we are now seeing in Russia,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented on a trip to Algeria.
“From our point of view, Putin is misled by his advisers about the poor performance of the Russian armed forces and the severity of the impact of the sanctions on the Russian economy, because his top advisers are afraid to tell him the truth,” a senior official said earlier on condition of anonymity.
Putin did not even know that his army was recruiting and losing conscripts in
Ukraine
“Putin did not even know that his army was recruiting and losing conscripts in Ukraine, which shows a clear interruption in the flow of reliable information reaching the Russian president,” he added.
The White House releases this information amid questions about the relationship between the Russian president and his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu.
Shoigu appeared publicly on Saturday after a two-week absence, giving rise to all kinds of speculation, including about the health of the minister, whose face is familiar on television screens.
He is also considered close to Putin. They both regularly make trips to the Siberian taiga in all-terrain vehicles. According to the aforementioned senior US official, “there is now constant tension between Putin and the Ministry of Defense.”
AFP
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