"Persistent tension" is said to have grown between Russia’s military leadership and president Vladimir Putin, who US intelligence claims feels misled after repeated setbacks in Ukraine.
White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said the administration has "information" on the split between Putin and his advisers but did not present the underlying evidence of the claim.
"We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about how badly the Russian military is performing, and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions, because his senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth," she said at the White House’s daily briefing.
"So it is increasingly clear that Putin’s war has been a strategic blunder, that has left Russia weaker over the long term, and increasingly isolated on the world stage."
Her comments reflect previously anonymous reporting by US officials, who said there was a clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information to the Kremlin.
“Putin didn’t even know his military was using and losing conscripts in Ukraine," the official told The Hill.
While Joe Biden told reporters during a vaccine photo op that he "can’t" comment on tension among Putin’s ranks, the claims were repeated by both the State Department, the Pentagon, and UK government officials.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a briefing in Algeria that the reports were a symptom of an autocracy’s "Achilles’ heel", where people can’t speak truth to power.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby added it was "discomforting" that Putin may not "fully understand the degree to which his forces are failing” in Ukraine.
“It’s his military,” Kirby said, according to The Washington Post. “It’s his war. He chose it. … And certainly, one outcome of that could be a less-than-faithful effort at negotiating some sort of settlement here. If he’s not fully informed of how poorly he’s doing, then how are his negotiators going to come up with an agreement that is enduring?"
Exactly how the Russian military is doing, poorly or otherwise, is shrouded in the fog of war and competing narratives. According to the head of the UK’s intelligence agency, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Mr Putin has "massively misjudged" the situation.
The head of Britain’sGCHQ intelligence agency, Sir Jeremy Fleming, will use a rare public speech in Australia on Thursday to outline the ways demoralised Russian soldiers are performing – from shooting down their own aircraft and sabotaging their own equipment to refusing to carry out orders.
Pre-released text of his remarks released to British media Sky News and The Guardian claim Russia’s cyber attackers are "looking for targets" beyond Ukraine in the countries that oppose Mr Putin’s invasion.
He is expected to add that mercenaries from the Wagner private military group are preparing to send larger numbers of personnel to fight in Ukraine, which Mr Putin would likely use as "cannon fodder" to limit military losses.
"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," his comments say.
“And even though we believe Putin’s advisers are afraid to tell him the truth, what’s going on and the extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime," the comments continue.
