WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials have found that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by advisers about his military’s poor performance in Ukraine, according to the White House.
The recently released intelligence finding indicates that Putin is aware of the situation regarding the information he received and that there are now ongoing tensions between him and senior Russian military officials.
The US believes Putin is being misled not only about the performance of his military, but also “how sanctions are crippling Russia’s economy because his senior advisers, in turn, are too scared to tell him the truth,” it said Kate Bedingfield, White House communications director, on Wednesday.
Earlier, in an exchange with reporters, President Joe Biden said he could not comment on the intelligence information.
According to a US official, the government hopes the announcement of the result could help Putin reconsider his options in Ukraine. The officer was not authorized to comment and spoke on condition of anonymity. The war has descended into a bloody stalemate across much of the country, with heavy casualties and plummeting Russian troop morale as Ukrainian forces and volunteers put up an unexpectedly strong defense.
But the public could also risk further isolating Putin, who US officials said appears to be driven, at least in part, by a desire to regain Russian prestige lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“It underscores that this was a strategic error for Russia,” Bedingfield said of the intelligence finding. “But I’m not going to characterize how … Vladimir Putin might think about it.”
Meanwhile, Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a 55-minute phone call that another $500 million in direct aid to Ukraine was on the way. It’s the latest outpouring of American aid as the Russian invasion continues.
When asked about the latest information, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken indicated that there was a dynamic in the Kremlin where advisers were unwilling to speak openly with Putin.
“One of the Achilles’ heels of autocracies is that in these systems there are no people who tell the truth to the powerful or have the ability to tell the truth to the powerful, and I think we see that in Russia,” Blinken told reporters a stop in Algeria on Wednesday.
The unidentified official did not cite any underlying evidence as to how US intelligence made its decision.
Intelligence agencies have concluded that Putin was unaware that his military had deployed and lost conscripts in Ukraine. They have also noted that he is not fully aware of the extent to which the Russian economy is being damaged by economic sanctions imposed by the US and its allies.
The findings show Putin a “clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information” and show that Putin’s senior advisers are “afraid to tell him the truth,” the official said.
Biden briefed Zelenskyy on the latest tranche of aid during a call during which leaders also reviewed security aid already delivered to Ukraine and the weapons’ impact on the war, the White House said.
Zelesnkyy has urged the Biden administration and other Western allies to provide Ukraine with military jets, something the US and other NATO countries have so far been unwilling to acquiesce over concerns it could lead to Russia starting the war extends beyond the borders of Ukraine.
Before announcing $500 million in aid on Wednesday, the Biden administration had sent about $2 billion in humanitarian and security aid to Ukraine since the war began last month.
Congress approved $13.6 billion that Congress approved earlier this month as part of a broader spending bill. Bedingfield said the latest round of financial support could be used by the Ukrainian government “to bolster its economy and pay for budgetary expenses,” including government salaries and maintaining services.
According to the Ukrainian President’s website, Zelenskyy told Biden: “We need peace and it will only be achieved if we have a strong position on the battlefield. Our morale is strong, there is enough determination, but we need your immediate support.”
The new information came after the White House on Tuesday expressed skepticism about Russia’s public announcement that it would be calling back operations near Kyiv to boost confidence in ongoing talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Turkey.
Russian forces bombed areas around the Ukrainian capital and another city overnight, regional leaders said on Wednesday.
The Pentagon said Wednesday it had seen some Russian troops in areas around Kyiv moving north toward or toward Belarus in the past 24 hours.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, in interviews with CNN and Fox Business, said that the US does not see this as a retreat, but as an attempt by Russia to resupply, re-equip and then relocate the troops.
Outside of Russia, Putin has long been considered isolated and surrounded by officials who don’t always tell him the truth. US officials have publicly said they believe the limited flow of information — possibly exacerbated by Putin’s increased isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic — may have given the Russian president unrealistic views about how quickly he could roll over Ukraine.
The Biden administration made unprecedented efforts before the war to publicize Putin’s invasion plans, relying on intelligence findings. While Russia was still invading, the White House was widely credited with turning attention to Ukraine and urging initially reluctant allies to back tough sanctions that have hit Russia’s economy.
But the US underscored the limitations of intelligence and also underestimated Ukraine’s will to fight before the invasion, Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, head of Defense Intelligence, told Congress recently.
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AP writers Matthew Lee in Algiers and Lolita C. Baldor contributed to the coverage.