By Oyintari Ben
According to US intelligence, Vladimir Putin has been questioned by a member of his inner circle about how he has handled the futile conflict in Ukraine.
According to reports, the insider complained to Putin about “mismanagement of the war effort” and “mistakes” committed by those running the campaign.
It is the most apparent sign of elite Russian discontent with the conflict and the first indication that Putin has been explicitly questioned about it.
The news broke after Ukraine defeated Russia in a series of battles, causing Putin to make a highly controversial mobilization announcement to fortify the front line, seize captured territory, and threaten anyone who intervenes with nuclear weapons.
The details were discussed with other top officials and included in a security brief sent to President Joe Biden before being leaked to the Washington Post.
While the Post omits to mention the name of the person who challenged Putin, it does add that the name was provided to Biden and the other participants in brief.
The Post separately consulted with members of the Russian business elite to get their perspectives, and it was informed that, while there hasn’t been a formal uprising among the authorities, there is a near-boiling point of unrest.
In response to claims that a representative had challenged Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, categorically denied that any such challenge had ever occurred.
However, he tried to pass them off as “working debates” even though he acknowledged that conflicts were occurring at the highest level.
He added that some people believe that we ought to behave differently, but this is just standard operating procedure.
Putin’s campaign in Ukraine is now in its eighth month, and he has accomplished none of the objectives he set for himself at the outset.
An ambitious shock-and-awe attack on Kyiv went wrong when Russian forces encountered fierce opposition, became bogged down, and was ambushed.
