Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a “total failure” and there are “ no options for a possible victory ”, a Russian whistleblower has reportedly claimed in a leaked report.
A so-called analyst in Russia's feared spy agency reportedly leaked the document which claims spies were kept in the dark over President Putin's plan.
This has left the FSB, successor to the infamous KGB, allegedly unprepared for the crippling sanctions that have followed.
Russian human rights activist and operator of the anti-corruption website Gulagu.net Vladimir Osechkin published the report on Facebook last week, reported The Times.
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The report allegedly concluded: “ Russia has no way out. There are no options for a possible victory, only defeat.”
The report also warned that 10,000 Russian soldiers could already be dead, while the Russian defence ministry has formally acknowledged the deaths of only 498 people so far.
The whistleblower added that the actual figure was unclear as "we have lost contact with major divisions" - but is similar to the number reported by Kyiv officials.
"You have to write the analysis in a way that makes Russia the victor ... otherwise you get questioned for not doing good work," they wrote.
"Suddenly it happens and everything comes down to your completely groundless analysis.
"[We are] acting intuitively, on emotion ... our stakes will have to be raised ever higher with the hope that suddenly something might come through for us.
“By and large, though, Russia has no way out. There are no options for a possible victory, only defeat."
The letter also claimed that Russia would not be able to occupy Ukraine, even if they assassinated Zelenskyy
It added: "Even with minimum resistance from the Ukrainians we'd need over 500,000 people, not including supply and logistics workers."
The document was published by Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian human rights activist who runs the anti-corruption website Gulagu.net.
Christo Grozev, an expert on the Russian security services, wrote on Twitter that he had shown the letter to two FSB contacts, who thought it “was written by a colleague.”
He added: "Ukraine had previously leaked fake FSB letters as psy-ops. This letter appeared different, though. It came via a reputable source [Osechkin] and it was way longer than a forger would choose to make it."
On Twitter, he added that while his contacts did not necessarily agree with all of the conclusions in the report, they were confident of its origin.
Aleksandr Bortnikov is the director of Russia's intelligence service, the FSB and is said to be one of Putin's most trusted henchmen.
Born in Perm, in the Soviet Union, Bortnikov graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Railway Engineers in 1973 and soon after joined the KGB.
In December 2017, he was the subject of derision after he sought to legitimize the Stalinist Great Purge, a brutal campaign led by dictator Joseph Stalin to eliminate anyone he considered a threat -where it is believed 750,000 were executed.
