The U.S. this week declassified intelligence findings claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed about his military’s poor performance in Ukraine by advisers scared to tell him the truth.
On Thursday a British spy chief said demoralized Russian troops were refusing to carry out orders and sabotaging their own equipment.
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Officials shared sensitive intelligence with other members of the Five Eyes alliance — (US), Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — and also with Ukraine.
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In January, as Russia amassed troops near Ukraine’s border, Britain’s Foreign Office issued a statement alleging that Putin wanted to install a pro-Moscow regime in Ukraine.
The U.K. said it was making the intelligence assessment public because of the “exceptional circumstances.”
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Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24 largely silenced the doubters, and drew a unified response from NATO.
The release of U.S. and British intelligence is partly designed to shore up that Western unity, officials and analysts say.
Both Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson doubt Putin is serious about negotiating an end to the war and want to keep up the West’s military and moral support of Ukraine.
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https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-boris-johnso…