The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying that the authorities in Russia placed the commander of an intelligence unit under house arrest, with the start of the exchange of accusations between intelligence and defense leaders over the escalating and slowing down of the Russian war on Ukraine.
And the newspaper reported - today, Saturday, quoting American sources - that reliable reports indicate that Moscow has placed the commander of the unit concerned with Ukraine within the “FSB” agency under house arrest, which is one of the main Russian intelligence agencies that succeeded the “KGB.” (KGB) famous in the Soviet era.
US officials say that tension has risen between Russia's intelligence and defense agencies after the campaign, which Moscow expected to culminate in a quick capture of the Ukrainian capital, has turned into a costly and embarrassing quagmire.
The same sources said that Russian intelligence agencies often avoid telling their bosses bad news, and may have reinforced Russian President Vladimir Putin's views that Ukraine is a dysfunctional country whose leadership would quickly collapse.
Although the newspaper reported the arrest of "at least one official" in the intelligence agencies, it stated that US officials do not see these developments as "a direct threat to Putin's iron grip on power", but they are closely monitoring these tensions.
Putin launched this war on Ukraine on February 24, and said that the military operations aimed to disarm Ukraine and ensure its neutrality, but the Western powers faced him with severe economic sanctions, and boosted their shipments of weapons and aid to support Kyiv.