Top British Spy Claims Dejected Russian Troops are ‘Accidentally Shooting Down Their Own Aircraft’

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Russian troops fighting in Ukraine are low on morale, sabotaging themselves and shooting down their own planes, a top British spy claims.

Sir Jeremy Fleming, the Director of the Government Communications Headquarters, has assessed the situation for Russian troops during the second month of the war on Ukraine. It is not good, he says.

The head of the UK’s top cyber security intelligence agency will address Australian National University in a closed-door meeting in Canberra. Sky News reported it has obtained Fleming’s remarks ahead of the meeting.

The spy chief will explain, based on the best available intelligence, that Vladimir Putin was not prepared for a war against Ukraine. Per Fleming, Russian troops were also ill-prepared, and some are sabotaging their own missions.

Others have accidentally shot down Russian warplanes, per Fleming. Sky News reported:

He will list these missteps as misjudging the Ukrainian resistance, underestimating the strength of the Western response, underplaying the economic consequences, and over-estimating the abilities of his military to secure a quick victory.

Revealing details about the state of the Russian military operation, Sir Jeremy is expected to say: “We’ve seen Russian soldiers – short of weapons and morale – refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment, and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft.”

Sky News reported Fleming will not disclose how many Russian aircraft are believed to have been downed due to friendly fire.

Fleming will also reportedly warn that the Kremlin-linked mercenaries from Russia’s private Wagner Group army might be prepared to fight in Ukraine to negate Russian military losses.

“Recently, we have seen that Wagner looks to be taking it up a gear,” Fleming will say. “They are looking at relocating forces from other conflicts and recruiting new fighters to bolster numbers.”

Fleming will say that the mercenaries “are likely to be used as cannon fodder” in the war.

NATO has estimated as many as 15,000 Russian troops might have been killed thus far fighting in Ukraine.