UK Spy Chief Says Putin Advisors Fear Telling Truth on Ukraine

The director of Britain's intelligence agency GCHQ says Putin had "massively misjudged" the invasion Roslan RAHMAN AFP
The director of Britain's intelligence agency GCHQ says Putin had "massively misjudged" the invasion Roslan RAHMAN AFP
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UK Spy Chief Says Putin Advisors Fear Telling Truth on Ukraine

The director of Britain's intelligence agency GCHQ says Putin had "massively misjudged" the invasion Roslan RAHMAN AFP
The director of Britain's intelligence agency GCHQ says Putin had "massively misjudged" the invasion Roslan RAHMAN AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin's advisors fear telling him the truth about his "failing" Ukraine war strategy, the head of Britain's top communications spying agency said Thursday.

Putin had "massively misjudged" the invasion, the director of Britain's intelligence agency GCHQ Jeremy Fleming said in a prepared speech to the Australian National University in Canberra.

His remarks, released in advance, echoed US intelligence issued by the White House the previous day indicating Putin was being "misinformed" by his advisors about the progress of the Russian operation.

According to AFP, Western intelligence sources have been keen to play up Russia's failures in the war and highlight divisions within Putin's inner circle.

Fleming said Putin had underestimated the Ukraine resistance, the strength of the international coalition against him, and the impact of economic sanctions.

The Russian leader had also overestimated his own military's ability to secure a rapid victory, he added.

"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," Fleming said.

"And even though Putin's advisors are afraid to tell him the truth, what's going on and the extent of these misjudgements must be crystal clear to the regime."

Russia's public statement this week that it would "radically" reduce combat operations around the capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernigiv "perhaps shows they have been forced to significantly rethink", Fleming said.

He warned that cyber attacks from Russia remain a threat.

Though some people were surprised that Moscow had not launched a catastrophic cyber attack, Fleming said it was "never our understanding" that such an offensive was central to the Russian invasion.

Britain's intelligence services had, however, detected a "sustained intent from Russia to disrupt Ukrainian government and military systems", he said.

"We've certainly seen indicators which suggests Russia's cyber actors are looking for targets in the countries that oppose their actions."

On the battlefields in Ukraine, Moscow was using mercenaries and foreign fighters to support its own forces, Fleming said.

They included the Wagner Group, which was "taking it up a gear" after being active in the country since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.

"The group works as a shadow branch of the Russian military, providing implausible deniability for riskier operations," he said.

Fleming noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping had refused to condemn the invasion, providing a level of diplomatic and economic support for Russia.

"With an eye on re-taking Taiwan, China does not want to do anything which may constrain its ability to move in the future," he said, predicting however that the China-Russia relationship may deteriorate as China's military and economy grow in power.



4 Security Officers, 2 Children Killed in Bomb and Mortar Attacks in Pakistan

People drive amid smog in Lahore, Pakistan, 06 November 2024. EPA/RAHAT DAR
People drive amid smog in Lahore, Pakistan, 06 November 2024. EPA/RAHAT DAR
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4 Security Officers, 2 Children Killed in Bomb and Mortar Attacks in Pakistan

People drive amid smog in Lahore, Pakistan, 06 November 2024. EPA/RAHAT DAR
People drive amid smog in Lahore, Pakistan, 06 November 2024. EPA/RAHAT DAR

A roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying security forces in restive northwestern Pakistan, killing four officers and wounding five others, officials said Thursday, and the same day two schoolchildren were killed when a mortar exploded near them elsewhere in the northwest.
The roadside bombing happened Wednesday in South Waziristan district, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, local police officer Dilawar Khan said.
The military in a statement confirmed the “martyrdom” of four officers, but said security forces also responded to the attack and killed five “Khwarij”, a term which is used by the military for the Pakistani Taliban.
In a statement, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to the slain officers, The Associated Press reported.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, has stepped up its assaults in the region since its ally the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
Later the same day, a mortar fired by insurgents landed near a road in the Tirah valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, killing two schoolchildren who were going to school on foot, police said.
The Pakistani military has launched dozens of operations against the Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents in South Waziristan and other former tribal regions nearby, but the militants continue to carry out frequent attacks.
On Thursday, Naqvi met with Chinese ambassador Jiang Zaidong in Islamabad to brief him about an investigation into an attack Tuesday in which a guard shot and wounded two Chinese nationals at a textile mill in the port city of Karachi, allegedly over a private dispute.