UK spy chief says Russian soldiers disobey orders in Ukraine

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) —  A U.K. intelligence chief says demoralized Russian soldiers in Ukraine are refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment and accidentally shot down their own aircraft. Jeremy Fleming is head of the GCHQ electronic spy agency and gave a speech in the Australian capital Canberra on Thursday. Fleming says Russian President Vladimir Putin had apparently “massively misjudged” the invasion. He says Putin underplayed the economic consequences of the sanctions regime and overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory. Although Putin’s advisers are believed to be too afraid to tell the truth, Fleming says the “extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime.”