According to British secret services, the Russian leadership is having increasing problems conveying the Ukraine war to its own people. Russian President Vladimir Putin is placing the “special military operation” in the context of the Soviet experience in World War II, according to the British Ministry of Defense briefing today.
Every year on May 9, Russia celebrates “Victory Day”, when the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 is celebrated with pompous military parades, the fallen are commemorated and veterans who are still alive are honored. Honoring the fallen of previous generations could easily expose the scale of recent losses in Ukraine, which the Kremlin is trying to cover up, London said.
This message could also be increasingly uncomfortable for the many Russians who have direct insight into the failing operation in Ukraine. The British also see the cancellation of several military parades in Russian border regions near Ukraine and on the annexed Crimean peninsula on May 9 as a sign of this development. According to official information, the cancellations also had to do with security concerns, it said from London.
The British Ministry of Defense has published daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a disinformation campaign.
Power struggle in the Russian leadership probably more violent than expected
According to a US newspaper report, the power struggle within the Russian power apparatus could also be more far-reaching than previously assumed. This is indicated by new secret documents that have now been published on the Internet in addition to the leaked information that became known days ago, the New York Times wrote early in the morning. According to the newspaper, the domestic secret service FSB accuses the military of covering up the extent of the casualties on the Russian side. The military continues to shy away from relaying bad news up the chain of command, the document said. The FSB, in turn, is questioning the figures from the Ministry of Defense in discussions with the Russian government.
The new documents also revealed details of a public dispute between the head of the Wagner mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu over ammunition allegedly withheld by the military for the Wagner troops. Accordingly, President Vladimir Putin is said to have personally tried to settle the dispute between the two. The meeting is said to have taken place on February 22, according to one of the documents.
Apparently secret documents from US agencies on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have been circulating on the Internet for weeks. Shortly before Easter, US media reported for the first time on the leak of this sensitive material on both warring parties without publishing the documents themselves. It is unclear who published the documents that were circulated weeks ago on pro-Russian channels. The investigative network Bellingcat proved that some of them were subsequently manipulated. The US government is trying to clarify.
Russia, meanwhile, enters disputes among its security organs. “I don’t know what such reports are based on, but I am ready to question the author’s credibility and understanding of what is really going on in Russia,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
