Putin is 'being misinformed' because advisers are 'too afraid' to tell him the truth, says U.S. official

The U.S. believes advisers to Vladimir Putin are misinforming the Russian president about the performance of the Russian military in Ukraine and the effect sanctions will have on the Russian economy because they're too scared to tell the truth, an American official told CNN on Wednesday.

"We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions, because his senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth," the official said, pulling from now-declassified U.S. intel.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.