A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said on Wednesday that the intelligence passed to Putin provided information to Putin and that there was “persistent tension” between the two of himself and senior Russian military officials. President Biden, in an exchange of views with journalists, did not comment. Later Wednesday, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield also did not say whether the president had approved the release. But the government hopes that revealing the finding could help Putin reconsider his choices in Ukraine. The war has led to a bloody stalemate in much of the country, with heavy casualties and the morale of Russian troops sinking as Ukrainian forces and volunteers project an unexpectedly strong defense. However, publicity runs the risk of further isolating Putin, whom U.S. officials say seems at least partly driven by a desire to regain Russian prestige lost since the fall of the Soviet Union. In Algeria on Wednesday, when asked to report that Putin had been misled by his defense ministers, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken did not immediately confirm the story, but told reporters that “one of the Achilles heel of the dictatorship is that there are no people in these systems that tell the truth to the authorities or do not have the ability to tell the truth to the authorities. “And I think that’s something we see in Russia.” Also Wednesday, President Biden spoke by telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for about 55 minutes and told him that $ 500 million in immediate aid to Ukraine was on the way. It is the last tranche of US aid as the Russian invasion continues. The two also discussed security assistance already delivered to Ukraine and the impact of weapons on the war, according to the White House. The unnamed official did not elaborate on the details of how the US intelligence service made its decision. The intelligence community concluded that Putin did not know that his army was using – and losing – conscripts in Ukraine. And it has also determined that it is not fully aware of the extent to which the Russian economy is affected by the economic sanctions imposed by the US and its allies. The findings show a “clear collapse in the flow of accurate information” to Putin and show that Putin’s top advisers are “afraid to tell him the truth,” the official said. Zelesnkyy has pressured the Biden government and its Western allies to provide Ukraine with military aircraft, something the United States and other NATO countries have so far refused to accept for fear it could lead to an extension of the war beyond Russia. from the border of Ukraine. Prior to Wednesday’s announcement of $ 500 million in aid, the Biden government had sent about $ 2 billion in humanitarian aid and security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war in late February. That’s part of the $ 13.6 billion that Congress approved earlier this month for Ukraine in a larger spending bill. Parliament and the Senate will receive confidential briefings on Ukraine on Wednesday. The new information came after the White House on Tuesday expressed skepticism about Russia’s public announcement that it would withdraw its operations near Kyiv in a bid to boost confidence in ongoing talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Turkey. And Ukrainian officials say Russia has continued bombing near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, despite Russian claims that it would limit operations “to boost mutual trust” for peace talks. The Pentagon said Wednesday that in the past 24 hours it had seen some Russian troops in areas around Kyiv moving north toward or toward Belarus. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told CNN and Fox Business in an interview that the United States does not see it as a withdrawal but as an attempt by Russia to resupply, reposition and then reposition its troops. Putin has long been considered an outsider outside Russia and surrounded by officials who do not always tell him the truth. U.S. officials have said they believe the limited flow of information – possibly exacerbated by Putin’s heightened isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic – could give the Russian president unrealistic views on how quickly he could overtake Ukraine. . Before the war, the Biden administration launched an unprecedented effort to publicize what it believed were Putin’s invasion plans, based on intelligence findings. As Russia continued to invade, the White House was widely credited with drawing attention to Ukraine and pushing initially reluctant allies to support harsh sanctions that have decimated the Russian economy. But by underscoring the limits of intelligence, the United States has also underestimated Ukraine’s willingness to fight before the invasion, said Lt. Gen. Scott Brier, head of the Defense Intelligence Service, in a recent statement to Congress. Sara Cook and Bo Erickson contributed to this report. More
title: “Putin Feels Russian Military Misled Him U.S. Official Says " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-16” author: “Dorothy Granby”
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said on Wednesday that the intelligence passed to Putin provided information to Putin and that there was “persistent tension” between the two of himself and senior Russian military officials. On Wednesday, President Biden, in an exchange of views with journalists, did not comment. Later, White House Communications Director Kate Bendingfield also did not say whether the president had approved the release. The next day, Thursday, Biden said Putin “appears to be isolated.” He added that “there are some indications that he fired or placed some of his advisers under house arrest.” However, he continued: “I do not want to put too much into it at the moment because we do not have so much hard data.” The government hopes that revealing the finding could help Putin reconsider his choices in Ukraine. The war has led to a bloody stalemate in much of the country, with heavy casualties and the morale of Russian troops sinking as Ukrainian forces and volunteers project an unexpectedly strong defense. However, publicity risks further isolating Putin, whom U.S. officials say seems to be driven at least in part by a desire to regain Russian prestige lost since the fall of the Soviet Union. The Pentagon agrees with the intelligence community that Putin “has not been fully informed” by the Department of Defense “at every turn” in the past month. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday that it was “annoying” that he may not have the full picture. “It’s his war. He chose it,” Kirby said. “So the fact that he may not have the whole framework, that he may not fully understand the extent to which his forces are failing in Ukraine – is a bit embarrassing to be honest with you.” Kirby went on to say that the lack of all the necessary framework could affect the negotiations. “If he is not informed, how will his negotiators reach an agreement? You also do not know how a leader like him will react,” Kirby said. In Algeria on Wednesday, when asked to report that Putin had been misled by his defense ministers, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken did not immediately confirm the story, but told reporters that “one of the Achilles heel of the dictatorship is that there are no people in these systems that tell the truth to the authorities or do not have the ability to tell the truth to the authorities. “And I think that’s something we see in Russia.” Also Wednesday, President Biden spoke by telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for about 55 minutes and told him that $ 500 million in immediate aid to Ukraine was on the way. It is the last tranche of US aid as the Russian invasion continues. The two also discussed security assistance already delivered to Ukraine and the impact of weapons on the war, according to the White House. The unnamed official did not elaborate on the details of how the US intelligence service made its decision. The intelligence community concluded that Putin did not know that his army was using – and losing – conscripts in Ukraine. And it has also determined that it is not fully aware of the extent to which Russia’s economy is collapsing, and even when the stock market reopens it is being hit by financial sanctions imposed by the US and its allies. The findings show a “clear collapse in the flow of accurate information” to Putin and show that Putin’s top advisers are “afraid to tell him the truth,” the official said. Zelensky pressured the Biden government and its Western allies to provide Ukraine with military aircraft, something the United States and other NATO countries have so far refused to accept for fear it could lead to an extension of the war beyond Russia. from the border of Ukraine. Prior to Wednesday’s announcement of $ 500 million in aid, the Biden government had sent about $ 2 billion in humanitarian aid and security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war in late February. That’s part of the $ 13.6 billion that Congress approved earlier this month for Ukraine in a larger spending bill. Parliament and the Senate will receive confidential briefings on Ukraine on Wednesday. The new information came after the White House on Tuesday expressed skepticism about Russia’s public announcement that it would withdraw its operations near Kyiv in a bid to boost confidence in ongoing talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Turkey. And Ukrainian officials say Russia has continued bombing near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, despite Russian claims that it would curtail operations “to boost mutual trust” for peace talks. The Pentagon said Wednesday that in the past 24 hours it had seen some Russian troops in areas around Kyiv moving north toward or toward Belarus. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told CNN and Fox Business in an interview that the United States does not see this as a withdrawal but rather as an attempt by Russia to resupply, reposition and then reposition its troops. Putin has long been considered an outsider outside Russia and surrounded by officials who do not always tell him the truth. U.S. officials have said they believe the limited flow of information – possibly exacerbated by Putin’s heightened isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic – could give the Russian president unrealistic views on how quickly he could overtake Ukraine. . Before the war, the Biden administration launched an unprecedented effort to publicize what it believed were Putin’s invasion plans, based on intelligence findings. As Russia continued to invade, the White House was widely credited with drawing attention to Ukraine and pushing initially reluctant allies to support harsh sanctions that have decimated the Russian economy. But by underscoring the limits of intelligence, the United States has also underestimated Ukraine’s willingness to fight before the invasion, said Lt. Gen. Scott Brier, head of the Defense Intelligence Service, in a recent statement to Congress. Sara Cook, Eleanor Watson and Bo Erickson contributed to this report. More
