“He has three advisers. Ivan the Terrible. Peter the Great. And Catherine the Great.”
On the imperial hubris and intelligence failures that led Putin into Ukraine – and his determination to see the invasion through.
with @felschwartz and @ChristopherJM
ft.com/content/800025…
On the imperial hubris and intelligence failures that led Putin into Ukraine – and his determination to see the invasion through.
with @felschwartz and @ChristopherJM
ft.com/content/800025…
@felschwartz @ChristopherJM With the scale of the disaster clear, Putin is seeking new rationales to justify the war.
“He tells people close to him, ‘It turns out we were completely unprepared. But it’s good that we found out about it this way, rather than when Nato invades us’.”
ft.com/content/800025…
“He tells people close to him, ‘It turns out we were completely unprepared. But it’s good that we found out about it this way, rather than when Nato invades us’.”
ft.com/content/800025…
@felschwartz @ChristopherJM One of Putin's worst mistakes was to trust Viktor Medvedchuk, his proxy in Ukraine, who insisted Ukrainians would greet Russia's army with open arms.
Russia spent huge sums paying a network of collaborators. But most of them just took the money and ran.
ft.com/content/800025…
Russia spent huge sums paying a network of collaborators. But most of them just took the money and ran.
ft.com/content/800025…
@felschwartz @ChristopherJM Prewar predictions Ukraine’s army would collapse assumed Russia’s air force would quickly gain control of the skies.
Instead, Russia’s army shot down so many of its own aircraft it ran out of pilots with combat experience who were still prepared to fly.
ft.com/content/800025…
Instead, Russia’s army shot down so many of its own aircraft it ran out of pilots with combat experience who were still prepared to fly.
ft.com/content/800025…
@felschwartz @ChristopherJM Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukrainian military intelligence, says: “From artillery units, from tanks, and we even saw it from our intercepts of their conversations. They shot down their own helicopters and they shot down their own planes.”
ft.com/content/800025…
ft.com/content/800025…
@felschwartz @ChristopherJM Once the scale of the failures dawned on Putin, the scapegoat was FSB general Sergei Beseda, the man responsible for much of the bad intel underpinning the invasion.
He was placed under house arrest – but subsequently released like nothing had happened.
ft.com/content/800025…
He was placed under house arrest – but subsequently released like nothing had happened.
ft.com/content/800025…
@felschwartz @ChristopherJM US officials arrived for a meeting wondering, after news of Beseda’s detention leaked, whether he'd turn up and how the Russians might explain where he was.
Instead, Beseda walked in and said: “You know, the rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.”
ft.com/content/800025…
Instead, Beseda walked in and said: “You know, the rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.”
ft.com/content/800025…
@felschwartz @ChristopherJM For many in the elite, the stream of lies to Putin is a survival tactic: most of Putin’s aides have told friends they oppose the war but feel powerless to do anything about it. “It’s really a unique war in world history, when all the elite is against it.”
ft.com/content/800025…
ft.com/content/800025…
@felschwartz @ChristopherJM When officials point out the economic damage, “he says, ‘We pay a huge price, I get it. We underestimated how difficult it could be.’ But how can you convince a crazy man? His brain will collapse if he realises it was a mistake. He doesn’t trust anyone.”
ft.com/content/800025…
ft.com/content/800025…
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