Vladimir Putin furious after huge 'miscalculation' sees Russians surrender in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin and his inner circle at the Kremlin know they have made a huge "huge miscalculation" in Ukraine and the mood is now "gloomy" in the Russian government, Putin's former speechwriter tells the Daily Express.

Russian forces made decent progress in the early stages of their offensive in the Kharkiv region, but reports now indicate that Ukrainian troops are successfully holding them back.

Abbas Gallyamov, Putin's aide between 2008-2012, says the Kremlin is concerned that its soldiers won't be able to win the war.

He told the Daily Express: "Politically it is just more proof that tells the Russian public, which is already exhausted, that we are far away from success and Ukraine is defending itself successfully.

"You start an offensive and then it stops, it is then hard to prove that you are winning. Now they are trying to tell Russians that we were never trying to take Kharkiv, that we were just trying to create a buffer zone.

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"There is a big conversation among Russian authorities about how to resolve the situation.

"The majority of Russians don't believe the authorities but they are not yet at the point of being revolutionary and displaying their displeasure publicly because they know they will be punished."

He added that, while the Russian government has concerns, they are not yet in panic mode.

Mr Gallyamov continued: "The mood is quite gloomy in the Kremlin on strategy. Their forces are moving towards being exhausted and the West is not backing down.

"They think 'we have made a big miscalculation.'

"It is gloomy but they are not panicking. They were panicking back in the summer of 2022 when the Russian army proved much weaker than they expected.

"They overcame the Ukraine offensive and the Priogzhin mutiny, so they are not panicking.

"They don't see an exit, they feel the situation is deteriorating, but it will not explode tomorrow. So they are concentrating on tomorrow rather than the long-term future because it is obvious there is no strategy."

Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia's offensive near Kharkiv had failed.

He said: "A very significant result is that the Russian army failed. The direction is strengthened. And it will be strengthened more."

Julian Röpcke, an open data analyst with the publication Bild, shared footage last week of Russian soldiers surrendering in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast.

He said on X: "Russian soldiers seem to surrender in N-E #Vovchansk. This is around 600 meters north of what Russian sources claim to be the current front line. So Russia seems to be losing ground there.

"Ukrainian troops re-re-recaptured several areas in N-E #Vovchansk, using reinforcements via a German-supplied 'Biber' bridge laying vehicle.

"Russian invasion forces further advanced S-W to the centre and are now around 400 meters away from the destroyed Vovcha bridge."