In recent days, it has been made known by Ukrainian military officials that Russian forces have been struggling to make advances in some of Ukraine’s bigger cities such as the capital of Kyiv. But President Vladimir Putin of Russia has been misinformed by his advisors about the state of Russian troops and the war.
According to declassified U.S. intelligence and reported by The New York Times, officials in the Ministry of Defense have been wary of informing Mr. Putin about the status of the war, fearing that it will upset him. Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby held a news conference on Wednesday to confirm that the Defense Department believes Mr. Putin is being misled about his army and the state of the war in Ukraine.
Additionally, Mr. Putin seemed unaware of the casualties Russian troops have been facing in the war and also didn’t know the extent that Western sanctions were having on Russia and its economy, according to the intelligence assessment.
Despite losses and pushback by Ukrainian forces in cities in Northern and Western Ukraine, attacks and bombings are still occurring. Even towns outside of Kyiv are still seeing violence on a daily basis.