Vladimir Putin's advisors are said to be 'too scared' to tell him how badly Russia is doing in Ukraine, according to US intelligence.
A US official said the economy is being "crippled" by sanctions, while Putin is being "misinformed" about the loss of control.
White House correspondent Peter Alexander said: "We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisors about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions, a US official tells me - "because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth.”
It comes after reports Russia will drastically cut its military activity around Kyiv and Chernihiv in Ukraine, one of Vladimir Putin's highest-ranked aides said yesterday.
Deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin said the decision comes in the interest of pursuing more peace talks between the countries.
It follows hopes that a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could be held in the coming days.
Ukrainian negotiators have proposed adopting neutral status with international guarantees to protect it from attack.
Negotiators said they would not join alliances or host bases of foreign troops - but would have their security guaranteed in a similar manner to the collective defence clause of NATO.
The countries identified to be allowed in facilitating these guarantees are Israel and NATO members Canada, Poland and Turkey.
The proposal included a 15-year consultation period on the status of Russian-annexed Crimea and could come into force only in the event of a complete ceasefire, Ukrainian negotiators have said.
Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said he will be reporting the Ukrainian proposals to Putin.
Today's talks in Istanbul were the first face-to-face meeting between the sides since March 10.
Mr Fomin said: "The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has taken the decision to drastically reduce combat operations in the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas in order to boost mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations and for the signing of the aforementioned agreement."
It follows more than a month of fighting after Russain invaded Ukraine on February 24 and has struggled to capture any major city.
