Russian troops were losing the battle for Liman, a small town in eastern Ukraine, in late September, when a call came to the commander on the front line via encrypted communication from Moscow.. It was Vladimir Putin ordering not to retreat. According to current and former U.S. and European officials cited in the Wall Street Journal article, as well as a former senior Russian intelligence officer briefed on the exchange, the president seemed to have limited understanding of the reality of the situation..

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The ill-equipped occupying forces were cordoned off by the Ukrainian advance, supported by artillery provided by the West.. Putin dismissed commands from his own generals and told troops to hold firm, sources say..

Ambushes by Ukrainian forces continued, and on October 1, Russian soldiers hastily retreated, leaving dozens of dead bodies and stockpiles of artillery, thus replenishing Ukrainian stockpiles of weapons..

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Over the summer, delegations of military experts and weapons manufacturers emerged from presidential meetings asking if the Kremlin chief understands the reality on the battlefield, according to WSJ sources familiar with the situation.. And while he has since made every effort to paint a clearer picture of the war, they say Putin remains surrounded by an administration that upholds his belief that Russia will succeed despite mounting human toll and economic fallout..

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“People around Putin are protecting themselves,” said Yekaterina Vinokurova, a member of his elected human rights council, before Putin removed her in November. “They have a deep conviction that they should not upset the president”.

According to a former Russian intelligence officer and current and former Russian officials, Putin wakes up around 7 a.m. daily for a written briefing on the war, with information carefully crafted to highlight successes and downplay failures..

He has long refused to use the Internet for fear of digital surveillance, according to Russian and US officials, making him more dependent on briefing documents written by ideologically oriented advisers..

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Knowledgeable people reported that reports from the front end up on Putin's desk after a few days, which is why they often remain irrelevant.. Frontline commanders report to the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the successor to the KGB, which edits reports for Security Council experts who pass them on to Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, the lead hawk who helped convince Putin to invade.. Ukraine. He, in turn, sends reports to Putin.