Putin misinformed about Russia’s military performance: US official

President Vladimir Putin doesn’t know how badly the Russian military is performing, a US official said citing intelligence. The developement comes after the White House on Tuesday expressed skepticism about Moscow’s claims that it is withdrawing troops from Kyiv and a nothern city amid peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey. 

“We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions, because his senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth,” a US official said on condition of anonymity. 

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The official further added that the assessment is based on declassified US intelligence findings. He said that Putin has felt misled by the Russian military and there is now persistent tension between him and senior Russian defense officials.

“We have information that Putin felt misled by the Russian military. There is now persistent tension between Putin and the (Ministry of Defence), stemming from Putin’s mistrust in MOD leadership,” the US official said.

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The official did not detail underlying evidence for how US intelligence made the determination.

US also believes that the Russian President was “using and losing conscripts in Ukraine, showing a clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information to the Russian president.”

Russia’s military on Tuesday claimed that it will “fundamentally cut back” operations near Kyiv, Chernihiv “to increase trust” in talks. 

Certain units of Russia’s military are withdrawing from capital Kyiv and nothern city of Chernihiv, Ukriane’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said. 

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“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.

Biden was to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments in the war.