Was there a mole in Putin’s inner circle, passing on the war plans to their CIA or MI6 handlers? “He was very focused on taking over Kyiv.”In Washington, the working assumption was that, at least in the initial phase of the war, Putin would be successful. “At every meeting, they told me it’s happening for sure,” a Ukrainian intelligence official stationed in Washington said, recounting numerous encounters with CIA counterparts. Call him [Putin] directly and tell him to stop the war,” Zelenskiy told Johnson, his voice hoarse. “Half of it is we overestimated Russian military performance and underestimated the Ukrainian military,” said Michael Kofman, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington.

Source: Taipei Times February 25, 2026 16:17 UTC