The Putin bubble: Advisors apparently do not sufficiently inform the president about the Ukraine war

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Putin at a press conference in December: "The people around him are protecting themselves"

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Sergey Guneev / AP

For months, Vladimir Putin has been pushing ahead with his war of aggression against Ukraine, despite the fatal failures of his army and an exodus of young men from Russia.

What does the Russian President really know about the situation at the front and the mood in his country?

Which information gets through and which doesn't?

The Wall Street Journal researched this for months and spoke to experts from Russia, the USA and Ukraine, some of whom had direct insight into the Kremlin.

In a report, the newspaper now paints a picture of a largely isolated man who is supposed to rely on well-curated, sometimes embellished information from his inner circle.

In principle, this assessment is not new: The White House had already announced in March that the US government assumed that Putin was not properly informed by his advisors about the failures of the army and the consequences of Western sanctions.

According to its own statements, the “Wall Street Journal” has now traced the information chains to the Russian President in a much more concrete manner.

Several unnamed sources told the newspaper that after several months of war Putin is trying to get a clearer picture of the situation in Ukraine.

However, those around him would further strengthen his belief in a successful military invasion of Ukraine.

According to the report, Putin himself is now so suspicious of his command structure that he has sometimes given orders directly to the front line.

Putin is said to have received outdated information from the front

So how does the report appear to inform Putin?

According to The Wall Street Journal, Putin is to receive a written briefing on the situation in Ukraine every morning at 7 a.m., the newspaper reports, citing a former Russian intelligence officer and current and former Russian officials.

The information in this paper is curated "to highlight successes and downplay setbacks," the newspaper writes.

Russian and US officials say Putin has long refused to use the internet for fear of digital surveillance.

That made him even more dependent on the written briefings of his advisers.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, reports that it could be several days before Putin received information about the situation at the front.

These are then sometimes outdated.

It was said that this was due to the information channels: The military at the front would report to the Russian domestic secret service FSB, which prepares the documents for the experts from Putin's Security Council.

The head of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, would then forward the reports to Putin, it is said.

Patrushev used to be the head of the FSB and is considered part of the so-called siloviki, a close circle made up of intelligence and military officials around Putin.

Kremlin denies misinformation

According to the report, several inquiries by the Wall Street Journal to various Russian authorities, including Patrushev and the Security Council, remained unanswered.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the newspaper: "As in the past, the president has several channels to obtain information." Claims that Putin was receiving distorted information "do not correspond to reality."

The Wall Street Journal, however, reported that a "long-time pollster" contacted Putin's office shortly after the invasion began.

According to the polls at the time, fewer Russians supported the war than expected, the newspaper reports.

Putin's office only replied: "Vladimir Vladimirovich does not need to be excited now."

"People around Putin are protecting themselves," Ekaterina Vinokorova told the Wall Street Journal.

Vinokorova was part of the Russian Human Rights Council, and the opposition Free Russia Forum lists her as a "propagandist" for Russia's war.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Putin deposed her in November.

Vinokorova told the newspaper to Putin's confidant: "You are firmly convinced that you must not annoy the president."

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