LONDON: The head of Britain's GCHQ spy service said on Wednesday that new intelligence showed some Russian soldiers in Ukraine had refused to carry out orders, sabotaged their own equipment and accidentally shot down one of their own aircraft.
Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands of people, displaced millions and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States.
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) chief Jeremy Fleming said President Vladimir Putin had "massively misjudged" the capabilities of Russia's once mighty armed forces while underestimating both the resistance of the Ukrainian people and the resolve of the West, which has punished Moscow with largely coordinated sanctions.
"Putin has massively misjudged the situation," Fleming said in a speech in Canberra at the Australian National University, according to a transcript of his remarks. "We believe Putin’s advisers are afraid to tell him the truth."
Citing new intelligence, Fleming said there was evidence that Russian soldiers had low morale and were poorly equipped.
"We’ve seen Russian soldiers – short of weapons and morale - refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft," Fleming said.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm GCHQ's analysis.
READ MORE: Latest development on Ukraine-Russia crisis
GCHQ, which gathers communications from around the world to identify and disrupt threats to Britain, has a close relationship with the U.S. National Security Agency and with the eavesdropping agencies of Australia, Canada and New Zealand in a consortium called "Five Eyes".
Russia's defence ministry says its armed forces are professional and carrying out their duty in Ukraine with considerable success. It says the West has spread lies about the operation in an attempt to bring down Russia.
The United States assesses that Russia is suffering failure rates as high as 60% for some of its precision-guided missiles, three U.S. officials with knowledge of the intelligence told Reuters.
Putin was misled by advisers who were too scared to tell him how poorly the war in Ukraine is going and how damaging Western sanctions have been, U.S. and European officials said on Wednesday. The Kremlin made no immediate comment.
Putin says the "special military operation" in Ukraine is necessary because the United States was using Ukraine to threaten Russia and Moscow had to defend against the persecution of Russian-speaking people by Ukraine.
Ukraine says it is fighting against an imperial-style land grab and that Putin's claims of genocide are nonsense.
Russia says that the West has effectively declared economic war on Russia and so it will now turn eastwards, away from Europe and build a partnership with China.
"But there are risks to them both (and more for China) in being too closely aligned," Fleming said.
"Russia understands that long term, China will become increasingly strong militarily and economically. Some of their interests conflict; Russia could be squeezed out of the equation."
Reuters
Thu Mar 31 2022
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) chief Jeremy Fleming said Putin underestimated both the resistance of the Ukrainian people and the resolve of the West, which has punished Moscow with largely coordinated sanctions. - REUTERS
Pelan Transformasi Air sasar tingkatkan air bersih, liputan sistem kumbahan - Fadillah
Pelan Transformasi Air sasar tingkatkan air bersih, tingkatkan liputan sistem kumbahan - Fadillah
Warga Thailand mengaku tidak bersalah seleweng diesel
Seorang warga Thailand mengaku tidak bersalah di Mahkamah Sesyen Alor Setar atas pertuduhan menyeleweng 322 liter minyak diesel.
Lilitan reben putih tak langgar peraturan - Timbalan Speaker
Ramli berkata, perkara itu juga adalah merupakan keputusannya dan bukan dibuat oleh Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Johari Abdul.
Kos pampasan tanah fasa 1B proses projek LPB Sabah RM1.2 bilion - Alexander
Anggaran kos pengambilan balik tanah bagi keseluruhan Fasa 1B proses pengambilan tanah dan penilaian pampasan tanah bagi Projek Lebuh Raya Pan Borneo Sabah (LPB Sabah) berjumlah RM1.2 bilion.
KR sedia tambah baik SOP pembinaan lebuhraya
Alaxender berkata kementerian bersedia untuk mendedahkan laporan kajian insiden jika ia melibatkan kemalangan berskala besar dan meragut nyawa.
Reman suspek kes keropok beracun disambung dua hari
Tempoh reman terhadap seorang pemilik kebun disambung selama dua hari, bagi membantu siasatan kematian dua kanak-kanak yang meninggal dunia akibat makan keropok beracun.
KPM alukan pesara guru ajar Bahasa Inggeris
Jelas Fadhlina Sidek pesara-pesara guru telah banyak membantu usaha KPM dalam meningkatkan PdP bahasa Inggeris termasuk melalui Program Highly Immersive Programme Mentor (HIP Mentor).
Tidak perlu lagi kemas kini status COVID-19 dalam MySejahtera - KKM
Jika positif COVID-19 melalui ujian kendiri, pesakit boleh mengunjungi klinik dan hospital berdekatan bagi mendapatkan pengesahan.
Mayat hampir reput dijumpai di rumah usang
Mayat hampir reput ditemui di sebuah rumah usang di Kesang Laut, berdekatan pusat timbang Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) pada Ahad.
Wanita dakwa dituduh Rafizi fail saman
Seorang wanita memfailkan saman terhadap Menteri Ekonomi, Rafizi Ramli bagi menuntut permohonan maaf secara terbuka berhubung dakwaan bahawa wanita berkenaan ialah isteri kepada bekas menteri yang dikaitkan dengan isu kapal tempur pesisir (LCS).
Bagaimanapun, Rafizi bergantung kepada pembelaan justifikasi berkata bersedia membuktikan kenyataan di mahkamah termasuk perlindungan bersyarat dan ulasan yang saksama terhadap saman fitnah yang difailkan oleh Zainab Mohd Salleh.
Bagaimanapun, Rafizi bergantung kepada pembelaan justifikasi berkata bersedia membuktikan kenyataan di mahkamah termasuk perlindungan bersyarat dan ulasan yang saksama terhadap saman fitnah yang difailkan oleh Zainab Mohd Salleh.