Bad For Them Is Good For Us

... but it could easily turn back to bad - really bad - if Mr Putin has the kind of meltdown that makes dictators famous and even more dangerous.

Daily Mail:

Putin 'has placed the head of the FSB's foreign intelligence branch under house arrest because he is furious at security services for failing to warn him' that Ukraine could fiercely resist invasion

• Vladimir Putin has reportedly placed the head of the FSB's foreign service under house arrest, along with his deputy
• The Russian president is said to blame his intelligence agencies for the slow pace of the war in Ukraine, which has seen Russian casualties continue to mount
• Andrey Soldatov, a well-respected author on the Russian secret services, said sources inside the FSB told him of the arrests on Friday
• Embezzlement of funds allocated for subversive and undercover work in Ukraine, as well as false information, is said to be the reason for the arrests
• The FSB security service allegedly told Putin Ukraine was weak, riddled with neo-Nazi groups, and would give up easily if he invaded
• The news comes after Putin was said to have sacked his top generals

Vladimir Putin has placed the head of the FSB's foreign service and his deputy under house arrest after blaming them for intelligence failings that saw his army handed a series of embarrassing defeats in Ukraine, it has been claimed.

Andrey Soldatov, a respected author on the Russian secret services, said sources inside the FSB told him that Sergey Beseda, 68, head of the agency's foreign service, has been placed under arrest on Putin's orders.

Also arrested is Anatoly Bolyukh, Beseda's deputy, according to Soldatov, who said Putin is 'truly unhappy' with the agency - which he ran before becoming president.

Putin is said to blame the agency for intelligence which assured him ahead of the invasion that Russian forces would face only token resistance from the Ukrainian army and that Ukrainians themselves were eager to be rid of their leaders.

Among the reasons for the repressions are the embezzlement of funds allocated for subversive and undercover work in Ukraine, as well as deliberately false information about the political situation in Ukraine.

The FSB security service allegedly handed him intelligence suggesting that Ukraine was weak, riddled with neo-Nazi groups, and would give up easily if attacked.

In fact, the Russian armed forces have faced fierce resistance from Ukrainian soldiers that has battled them to a standstill, inflicted heavy losses, and forced Putin's commanders to resort to brutal siege warfare that has so far yielded few results.

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