The fallout inside the Kremlin from the Russian military’s shitshow in Ukraine is just getting started, with more heads set to roll even after the FSB foreign intel division chief and his deputy were placed under house arrest for telling Putin what he wanted to hear and the invasion would be a breeze, the Wall Street Journal reports. “It is hard to imagine some senior intelligence person talking with Putin and not telling Putin what he wants to hear, especially if it is a belief that is deeply held, like Putin’s beliefs about Ukraine,” said former CIA and National Security Council Jeffrey Edmonds, who specialized in the region. “When it comes to this guy, it’s also clear that the culture of ‘someone is at fault and is going to pay’ is clearly still operative.”
Putin is also reportedly pissed at the agencies for leaks – some of which were publicized loud and clear by US leadership – which undermined whatever element of surprise Russian forces had and for failing to cultivate any fifth columnists inside Ukraine capable of softening defenses there.