Vladimir Putin is unaware of the real state of the war because of officials concealing military mishaps and failures, according to local reports.
Blogger Sergey Kolyasnikov claimed on the Telegram channel Zergulio that Russia’s defence officials and bureaucrats have deliberately withheld information from Putin about the state of the war in Ukraine.
In a recent post on the channel, Kolyasnikov said: “All regional media outlets work closely with the authorities. Most of them are under contract. Very solid contracts.
“This allows you to stop any leakage of negative information ‘to the top.’ They will hold it, serve it as it should, or not give it at all.
“As a result, both Moscow is calm and regional officials feel good. And the fact that the problem has not been solved – and to hell with it.”
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The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank noted the issue Putin has been facing with communication could be classed as a form of “authoritarian dilemma.”
They said: “Putin continues to face the authoritarian’s dilemma, whereby his authoritarian regime is itself systematically preventing him from receiving accurate information about military-political realities.”
The ISW argued Putin appeared to show signs of mistrust towards top defence officials when he convened a meeting with war bloggers to discuss their concerns about the ongoing war in Ukraine.
They said that the meeting suggested the Russian president sees bloggers as “a constructive opposition that checks Russian government and military officials.”
