The secretary of the Security Council of Russia Mykola Patrushev and the head of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov convinced Vladimir Putin of the need to invade Ukraine.
The Times writes about this with reference to a source in the Russian government.
The publication writes that due to the age of Putin, who turned 70 in October, the main security forces decided that they were running out of time to finally resolve the issue of "Western aggression". For this, in their opinion, it was necessary to "finally solve the problem of Ukraine."
A newspaper source in the Russian government under the pseudonym "Sergiy Rudyi" said that by mid-summer 2021, a "critical mass" of opinions about the need for a "decisive military strike" had formed in Putinʼs inner circle. At the same time, the format of the "hit" was not determined at that time. However, Patrushev and Bortnikov made a principled decision about the invasion by the end of last summer. After that, it remained for them to prepare the forces for the strike and finally convince Putin to start the operation.
The Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is called by The Times "a performer among high-ranking security forces who hesitates", emphasizing that the political initiative for the war came from the security bloc. At the same time, most of the Russian elites were not informed about the plans to start the war and perceived the previous events as a bluff on the part of Putin.
One of the interlocutors of the publication, who is a long-time friend of Putinʼs family, claims that the press secretary of the President of Peskov told him shortly after the start of the war that most members of the Security Council learned about the preparations for the invasion only at a meeting on February 21.
Another newspaper source said that billionaire Mykhailo Fridman had told him days before the war began, citing "top friends in the intelligence services," that there was no danger of an invasion.