'Traditionally Miscalculated': Russian General Trashes Russian Intelligence Service
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Russia was not prepared to invade Ukraine.
Former commander-in-chief of the Russian Ground Forces Vladimir Chirkin (2012-2013) criticized the Kremlin's intelligence services for their actions at the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, these services prompted an unprepared Moscow to launch a full-scale invasion, writes Business Insider.
According to journalists, such statements are very risky for a high-ranking Russian military official, even among those who are no longer in the service.
"If you remember, in February 2022, everyone started saying that the war would be over in three days. We will defeat them all now, but unfortunately it didn't happen that way. I would give our entire Russian intelligence service an unsatisfactory grade," Chirkin said in an interview with Russian radio station RBC on Nov. 27.
According to him, Moscow "traditionally" miscalculated the balance of forces, underestimating its enemy and overestimating the capabilities of its own troops.
"Frankly speaking, I do not intend to criticize anyone, but in my opinion, Russia was again unprepared for war, as in previous years and centuries," the colonel-general said.
He added that the Russian leadership was mistaken in believing that 70% of the Ukrainian population supported the pro-Russian government.
"It turned out to be the opposite. 30% in favor of us and 70% against. During the first few weeks we received a very cruel lesson," Chirkin emphasized.
The colonel-general added that at the beginning of the invasion, the Russian army probably suffered from the "Tbilisi syndrome," when the military is afraid to make tactical decisions without orders from their superiors.
"Chirkin's assessment largely coincides with Western and Ukrainian analyses of the early months of the war, which showed that Russia had grossly overestimated its ability to capture the Kiev region. After weeks of confusion among its troops, poor logistics, and failure to achieve an air advantage, the Kremlin retreated from the capital region in late March," Business Insider recalled.
At the same time, the general's candor surprised even his interviewer, Yuri Tamantsev of RBC.
"To be honest, I did not expect such frankness at the very beginning of our conversation," he said.
The BI said Chirkin was stripped of his command in 2013 when he was accused of bribery. He lost his rank after he was found guilty of taking a bribe of 450,000 rubles in August 2015, after which he was sentenced to five years in a penal colony, but the sentence was commuted in December.
"The colonel general, who said the bribe was the result of fraud by his subordinates, was restored to the rank," the material noted.
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