UK spy chief claims Russian soldiers refusing to carry out orders, shot down own aircraft
Russian tank
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The chief of Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) on Wednesday (March 30) claimed that some demoralised Russian soldiers in Ukraine have been disobeying orders and accidentally shot down one of their own aircraft.
The spy agency GCHQ chief Jeremy Fleming said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "massively misjudged" the capabilities of Russia's once-mighty armed forces.
Fleming cited new intelligence and stated that there was evidence that Russian soldiers had low morale and were poorly equipped.
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"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 in a speech in Canberra at the Australian National University, according to a transcript of his remarks.
Fleming also claimed that Putin might have underestimated some major aspects before announcing his decision to invade Ukraine. He said, "Putin has massively misjudged the situation. We believe Putin’s advisers are afraid to tell him the truth."
The Russian leader might have misjudgedthe resistance of the Ukrainian people and the resolve of the West, which has punished Moscow with multiple economic sanctions.
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On February 24, Russia ordered the so-called "military operation" in Ukraine. Since then, the invasion has killed thousands of people, displaced millions.
On one hand, such reports have claimed that the Russian forces are facing setbacks against Ukrainian resistance, but Russia's defence ministry says its armed forces are professional and carrying out their duty in Ukraine with considerable success.
The Russian military also says that the West has spread lies about the operation in an attempt to bring down Russia.
The United States assesses that Russia is suffering failure rates as high as 60 per cent for some of its precision-guided missiles, three US officials with knowledge of the intelligence told Reuters.
There are no comments yet by Kremlin on Jeremy Fleming's remarks.
WATCH |United States: Putin misled on how war progressed
(With inputs from agencies)