The commander of the British cyber intelligence agency GCHQ said on Tuesday that Russian forces in Ukraine are out of ammunition and that the Russian people now understand that the invasion of Ukraine was a poorly thought-out move.
In a speech to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank in London, Sir Jeremy Fleming said, “We know, and Russian commanders on the ground know, that their supplies and munitions are running out.”
The Russian army is worn out. The mobilisation of tens of thousands of inexperienced conscripts and the use of prisoners as reinforcements speak to a desperate situation, he said.
According to the spy chief, common Russians were “fleeing the draught, realising they can no longer travel.”
They are aware that their access to contemporary technologies and outside influences will be severely constrained. He made reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin and said, “And they’re feeling the extent of the terrible human cost of his war of choice.
Fleming stated that he thinks that “Russian doctrine and Putin’s approach to this war would see that being hopefully a long way off” in reference to the possibility of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons.
Several Russian missiles were fired at Ukrainian cities the day before Fleming’s speech, in what Putin claimed was retaliation for an explosion on the Kerch Bridge, which connects occupied Crimea to Russia.