Putin's advisors fear telling truth on 'failing' Ukraine war plan, says UK spy chief
India Today
UK spy chief Jeremy Fleming has said Russian President Vladimir Putin's advisors are afraid of telling him the truth about the 'failing' Ukraine war strategy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's advisors fear telling him the truth about his "failing" Ukraine war strategy, the head of Britain's top communications spying agency said Thursday.
Putin had "massively misjudged" the invasion, the director of Britain's intelligence agency GCHQ Jeremy Fleming said in a prepared speech to the Australian National University in Canberra.
His remarks, released in advance, echoed US intelligence issued by the White House the previous day indicating Putin was being "misinformed" by his advisors about the progress of the Russian operation.
Read: Russian soldiers disobeyed orders, accidentally shot down own aircraft: UK spy chief
Western intelligence sources have been keen to play up Russia's failures in the war and highlight divisions within Putin's inner circle.
Fleming said Putin had underestimated Ukraine's resistance, the strength of the international coalition against him, and the impact of economic sanctions.
The Russian leader had also overestimated his own military's ability to secure a rapid victory, he added.
