Vladimir Putin is being lied to by his advisers, says UK spy chief

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Vladimir Putin's advisers "are afraid to tell him the truth" about Russia's rapidly faltering campaign in Ukraine, according to the head of GCHQ.

In his first public comments on the war, Sir Jeremy Fleming said Putin "overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory", more than five weeks after the invasion began.

Sir Jeremy, the director of the UK's intelligence, cyber and security agency, used a speech in Australia to reveal that demoralised and undisciplined Russian soldiers were refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment "and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft".

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