Putin’s ‘witch-hunt’ to root out ‘guilty’ men behind botched Ukraine invasion
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Angry Vladimir Putin is conducting a witch-hunt inside his inner circle to root out the `guilty men’ behind his bungled Ukraine invasion.
Sources claim the Russian president is `incandescent’ the US and UK discovered details of his military plans which were passed onto Ukrainians.
That is seen as the reason why five leading Russian generals and a top naval officer have been killed in fighting.
Mr Putin is said to have grown wary of his defence minister Sergei Shoigu – a close ally and holiday pal – who is in overall charge of the invasion.
His public appearances have been curtailed in the past week while his daughter Ksenia, 31, was seen posing in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag.
Putin has been dismissive in private of long-time ally Alexander Bortnikov – FSB security service head – and snapped in meetings at Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian general staff.
Bortnikov has been spoken of as a stand-in leader should Putin fall in a coup.
Another reported target of presidential rage is Igor Kostyukov, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed forces, who faces imminent removal.
Putin has also publicly humiliated SVR foreign intelligence chief Sergey Naryshkin.
The president is reportedly more concerned with losses of military hardware – for which he has blamed Gerasimov – than battlefield casualties.
A 50,000 death toll – a third of Russia ’s invasion force – would be "nothing compared to the goals that will be achieved after the victory" he is said to have told commanders.
Some believe he is plotting a deal he can sell as a Ukrainian "surrender" and planning a "victory parade" in Moscow in early May.
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One source said: "He is incandescent that US and UK intelligence appear to know the Russian army’s next moves all the time, starting with predicting the invasion before he was ready to acknowledge it.’"
Russian security expert Andrei Soldatov said military counter-intelligence is probing an FSB security service department.
“That could mean that finally people in Moscow started asking themselves why the US intelligence was so accurate,” he told The New Yorker.
"Military counter-intelligence is mostly about mole-hunting, identifying the sources of leaks.
"So it looks like now Putin is getting angry, not only with bad intelligence and the bad performance in Ukraine but also about the sourcing of the US intelligence about the invasion and why US intelligence was so good before the invasion, and why the Americans knew so many things.’’
The claims about Putin’s fury came as Ukraine’s armed forces reported 300 Russian troops in the Sumy region had `refused to comply with orders to carry out combat’ and fled.
Ukraine’s minister for internal affairs Denys Monastyrsky said Russians were defecting with military equipment and tanks after rumbling they were `cannon fodder'.
Up to 50% of Russian troops are suffering frostbite after being sent into battle with unsuitable clothing, tents and medical supplies, according to an intercepted call from a soldier.
They are also battling shortages of food, fuel, ammunition and armour -allowing Ukraine troops to push back the invasion and recaptured seized territory.
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During the call obtained by the Security Service of Ukraine the soldier compared Russia’s military operation to a "f***ing circus" and said they had thought it would be a victory parade.
Putin is sending in execution squads to bump off Russian troops who try to flee, according to captured prisoners of war.
The kill teams are a revival of Joseph Stalin’s WW2 tactics and another sign of dire morale.
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- Vladimir Putin
- Military
- Russia
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