The British newspaper "The Times" reported that since last summer, the concrete plans for Russia's military invasion of Ukraine have been carried out secretly by President Putin's closest aides, and eventually persuaded the president. I told the inside story that it was decided in the form.
An article in the electronic edition of The Times dated March 3, citing a Russian government official, said that apart from Putin, the Patrushev Security Council played a central role in leading Russia to war. It was reported that it was the secretary, the head of the security service FSB = Bortnikov, and the Minister of Defense Shoigu.
Among them, Mr. Patrushev from the Soviet intelligence agency KGB = National Security Committee and Mr. Bortnikov are said to have strongly insisted on the need for a military invasion.
Regarding the response to Ukraine, as of the summer of last year, there were plans to establish a small "state" in eastern Ukraine, annex the territory to Russia, and completely eliminate the Zelensky government and set up a Russian puppet government. Three proposals were considered.
By the end of the summer, Mr. Patrushev and Mr. Bortnikov had made a principled decision, including the necessity of a military invasion, and all that was left was to persuade Putin.
Under such circumstances, Defense Minister Shoigu said that there were times when he hesitated about the operation.
Subsequent detailed discussions were also carried out by a very small number of people, and even Foreign Minister Lavrov points out that he did not know the details of the operation, such as invading the capital Kyiv, until just before.
In addition, the article reports that his aides may have rushed to the decision of a military invasion, believing that President Putin was old and did not have time to find a decisive countermeasure against the West.