Putin Being Lied To By Own Advisers Us Defense Official

The militant strongman is lying from his inner circle about everything from military losses to the economy, said an anonymous US official, citing recently declassified information. U.S. intelligence says Putin was unaware of the extent to which his military relied on – and lost – troops, the official said. The Russian leader also received an unrealistically rosy assessment of Russian markets as his advisers downplayed the impact of Western sanctions on their economy. The official also said Putin now knew he had been misled, sparking tensions between the president and his top military officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets on March 29. SPUTNIK / AFP via Getty Images Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerashimov met with Putin in Moscow on February 27. via REUTERSA Russian soldier in Russian vehicles of pro-Russian troops drive along a road in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on March 25.REUTERS There is a “clear collapse in the flow of accurate information” to Putin, the official said, with the Russian president’s senior advisers “afraid to tell him the truth.” The official did not provide any underlying evidence as to how the US Secret Service made its decision. With Post cables