Putin is making strategic mistakes because nobody in the Kremlin can tell him he's wrong, UK intelligence chief says

The head of the UK's GCHQ spy agency said that Putin makes strategic errors in his war in Ukraine because nobody around him can call him out.

According to the text of a speech from Jeremy Fleming, Putin's decision making isflawed because he has little effective internal challenge.

Fleming said that the strategy was leading to strategic errors in judgement.

Fleming is going to give a speech in London on Tuesday. The speech focuses on China but also talks about Russia's aggression in the war.

The impact of Putin's decision-making has been remarked upon by analysts.

The Russian leader has surrounded himself with people who share his mindset and that makes internal challenges to his thinking extremely rare.

CNN reported in September that Putin went around the usual chain of command to personally give battlefield orders to his generals, which the US says has contributed to chaos on the ground.

Over the past six weeks, Ukraine has regained hundreds of square miles of territory that Russia claimed to have taken.

The brave reality of Ukrainian defense has been hit by Putin's plan.

He said that the costs to Russia are "staggering" and that supplies are running out.

Fleming said that Putin's recruitment from prisons and his chaotic mass deployment of reserve soldiers speak of a desperate situation.

The UK's Ministry of Defence said that the announcement sent Russians fleeing to avoid the draft in numbers that exceeded Putin's original invasion force.

Fleming said that they are starting to realize that the war will affect their lives.

The speech was due a day after Putin launched missiles and drone swarms towards Kyiv and several other Ukrainian cities and regions.

State media reported that Putin said this was in response to the attack on the bridge.

Putin named a brutal commander to lead the assault on Ukraine.