The Kremlin on Thursday denied U.S. and British claims that President Vladimir Putin's advisers are scared of giving him a true picture of Moscow's military operation in Ukraine.
Putin launched the military operation in Ukraine on Feb. 24 citing the "genocide" of Russian speakers there and accusing the pro-Western country of close ties with NATO.
"This shows that neither the Department of State nor the Pentagon have real information about what is happening in the Kremlin," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
"They don't understand President Putin, they don't understand the mechanism for taking decisions and they don't understand the style of our work," he added.
Britain's GCHQ spy agency chief, Jeremy Fleming, said Thursday that "Putin's advisers are afraid to tell him the truth" about the Russian military's progress and the degree of Ukrainian resistance.
The White House earlier gave a briefing on declassified intelligence which found that Putin's relations with his staff had deteriorated.
White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said Putin "felt misled by the Russian military."
The reports could not be independently confirmed.
Peskov said that "it was not just a pity" that such claims were made, but "it causes concern, because such complete non-understanding is what leads to mistaken decisions, to hasty decisions that have very bad consequences."
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
