Biden says Putin is “self-isolating,” claims he “fired” or arrested advisers, and says Russia is adding forces in Donbas and there’s no evidence he’s withdrawing from Kyiv
- The White House said this week that Putin feels misled by the Russian military.
- Russia has suffered combat losses in Ukraine with obvious deficiencies in supplies and tactics
- Biden said it was an “open question” how much Putin was being misinformed
- But he said he appears to be self-isolating.
- He said there was evidence that Putin had fired or arrested advisers
- Russian Defense Minister Sergie Shoigu was not seen for 12 days before appearing in a Kremlin video on Saturday
President Joe Biden fueled a declassified intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin was getting bad information from his advisers – and said the “isolated” strongman may have imprisoned some of his advisers.
Biden spoke directly about his counterpart’s possible state of mind after the White House attempted to sanitize his comments in Warsaw on Saturday when Biden firmly said that Putin “cannot remain in power.”
Biden was asked about Wednesday’s reports, based on declassified information, that Putin was “misled” by his advisers and military leadership and how badly Putin was misinformed.
“That’s an open question,” the President replied. “There is a lot of speculation. But he seems – I don’t say that with a certain self-isolation. And there is evidence that he has fired some of his advisers or placed them under house arrest.’
Then he hedged: “But I don’t want to store too much now. Because we don’t have that much hard evidence.’
President Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin “appears to have isolated himself” and said there was “some evidence that he has fired some of his advisers or placed them under house arrest.”
Video images of Putin meeting top officials in person showed the ruler seated at comically long tables amid reports he was afraid of contracting Covid. “Self-isolation,” the term used by Biden, also has medical connotations for those who may have been exposed to a communicable disease.
There have been mysterious reports, coinciding with Biden’s European trip, of the apparent disappearance of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
He appeared to have disappeared for 12 days amid the brutal invasion of Russia.
On Saturday, the day of Biden’s big speech in Warsaw, Shoigu appeared in an official Kremlin video with top officials, including Chief of Joint Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Shoigu is considered close to Putin and was even mentioned as a possible successor.
On Wednesday, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield commented on information about Putin that emerged in the morning and was attributed to an unidentified administration official.
Why the long table? Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin “appears to have isolated himself.”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was not seen for days and then reappeared at a meeting on Saturday
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a concert marking the 8th anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, March 18, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) listens to French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia February 7, 2022
Local residents walk near an apartment building destroyed during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, March 30, 2022
A gas station burns after Russian attacks in the city of Kharkiv March 30, 2022 amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
“We have information that Putin felt misled by the Russian military, which has led to ongoing tensions between Putin and his military leadership,” she said.
“We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about how poorly the Russian military is performing and how sanctions are crippling the Russian economy because his senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth.”
Military experts have expressed surprise at Russia’s failure to date to achieve its military goals. Russia said it was withdrawing from Kyiv, a city it appears to be trying to surround, with intentions to focus on eastern Ukraine.
Biden pointed out that there is no evidence that Russia is actually withdrawing from Kyiv and that it appears to be adding forces in Donbass, where Russian separatists have been waging a war for years.
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