The faltering progress of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has put a spotlight on Russian intelligence services, which observers say failed to prepare the Kremlin for the reality of the offensive.
Various reports suggest that a section of the mighty Federal Security Service (FSB) from Russia it has been the subject of particular attention, with its leader being questioned and perhaps under house arrest.
This has led several analysts to question whether all is well at the headquarters of the FSB in the square Lubyanka of Moscow, which was once the seat of the KGBthe secret services of the Soviet Union.
Observers believe that Russia expected to move much faster after launching its invasion on February 24 and that its forces would be welcomed, rather than the current resistance of the Ukrainians.
“People did not make the reality of the situation clear to Vladimir Putin”said a French intelligence source, who requested anonymity. For this, “The system is bunkering” to prevent the Russian president from receiving “too much bad news”.
In information published by the Meduza news site, Andrei Soldatov and Irina BoroganRussian experts in intelligence services, wrote that the first consequences of espionage failures were beginning to be felt.
the boss of the call FSB Fifth Division, Sergei Besedaand its deputy, Anatoly Bolujare under house arrest as part of an investigation, according to this Russian site based in latvia.
The Fifth Division is a very powerful branch of the FSB that oversees its operations outside of Russia, especially in former USSR states like Ukraine, and distinct from the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
Russian news agencies reported this weekend that the head of the Russian national guard, Victor Zolotovassured that the invasion “wasn’t going that fast” as the authorities would like, but claimed this was in an attempt to prevent civilian casualties.
Vladimir Oseshkin, At the head of a website that denounced abuses in Russian prisons, he indicated that these house arrests are officially part of an investigation into embezzlement of funds intended for Ukraine.
“But the real reason was inadequate and incomplete information about the political situation in Ukraine”added this Russian dissident who lives in France.
Your site has posted a series of letters from an alleged whistleblower named “Wind of change” which affirms that there is a climate of fear in the FSB due to its inability to alert the resistance to the Russian invasion.
“Putin is likely to be conducting an internal purge of general officers and intelligence personnel,” He said Institute for the Study of War (ISW)based in Washington.
“Wrong intelligence”?
“He may be doing it to save face after disregarding his assessments or in retaliation for erroneous intelligence he may believe he was given.”he added.
FSB Dosye, an investigative site specializing in the work of the FSB financed by former ligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, said on Monday that reports of a large-scale purge were exaggerated and that Beseda had been questioned but remained in his post.
Boluj had also been questioned, but he had not been number two in the Fifth Division for some years, adds this medium.
According to FSB Dosye and other reports, Beseda was in Ukraine in 2014 to help then-President Viktor Yanukovych deal with a pro-Western uprising. The leader ended up fleeing to Russia.
The European Union (EU) sanctioned the head of the FSB in July of that year after the annexation of crimea and the outbreak of fighting in eastern Ukraine with pro-Russian separatists.
The European decision says that Sergei Beseda, born in 1954, “directs a service responsible for the supervision of intelligence operations and international activities”.
The role of the SVR is also being questioned after Putin subjected his boss, Sergei Naryshkin, to a bizarre televised humiliation on the eve of the invasion.
According to Western sources, the strength of the Ukrainian resistance and the unwillingness of local populations to welcome Russia took Moscow by surprise.
“Before an operation of this type, you have to start by analyzing the state of the population, in what situation you are going to operate”said a senior French official, who requested anonymity.
Source: Gestion
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