Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misled by advisers who are “afraid to tell him the truth” about the Russian military’s performance in Ukraine, Western officials have said, claiming that some soldiers were refusing to carry out orders and even sabotaging their equipment.
The assessments from officials in the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom on Wednesday came as the Russian invasion of Ukraine ground to a bloody halt in much of the country and negotiations to end the month-long war failed to yield results.
