【Frontline Russian forces lied about military situations? Financial Times: They passed false information to President Putin】
The UK's Financial Times quoted two anonymous Western officials, stating that the intelligence they obtained showed that Russian generals regularly delivered false and misleading battlefield information to Putin. Specifically, they deliberately exaggerated Ukraine's combat losses and Russian progress on the battlefield, and often emphasized Russia's military advantages in this war of attrition, ultimately making President Putin believe he could win the conflict.
These specific manifestations directly appeared at multiple military briefings. In early December, Grigoryev and others told Putin that they had captured Red Army City, but so far, Ukrainian forces have controlled the northern part of Red Army City and are fighting fiercely with Russian forces in the nearby Myrnohirsk.
Shortly after, Kuzovlev publicly reported to Putin that they had captured Kupiansk, but not long after, Zelenskyy visited the area. Now, Russian forces have been pushed to the east bank of the Osikol River. In addition, Russian forces also claimed to have captured Severodonetsk, but currently, Ukrainian forces still control the western part of the city and are engaged in urban street fighting with Russian forces.
It is worth noting that in the summer, Reuters stated that Grigoryev and others told Putin that the Ukrainian front line would collapse completely within a few months, so at that time, Putin directly ignored Trump's "secondary tariff sanctions" and chose to continue the war. However, half a year has passed, and Russian forces are still fighting desperately for Red Army City, which has been under siege for 19 months, and the Ukrainian front line has not collapsed.
The British media stated: The information that the generals passed to Putin made him optimistic about the prospects of the conflict, which is also the confidence that Putin has to demand Ukraine to cede the entire Donbas region.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852292568227868/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.