Russia's Putin administration arrests spy chiefs for setbacks in Ukraine invasion: Report

In a key development, the Putin administration has placed a top Russian spy chief and his deputy under house arrest in the wake of setbacks during the invasion of Ukraine. The Times, quoting an expert, stated that Federal Security Service (FSB) chief Sergey Beseda and his deputy Anatoly have been apprehended.

Andrei Saldatov, the editor of Agentura, an investigative website, said that the sources within the spy agency have confirmed the detention of both men. The arrests were also confirmed by Vladimir Osechkin, an exiled Russian human rights activist. Beseda is the head of FSB's Fith Serve, which is responsible for gathering intelligence in Ukraine. His deputy, Bolyukh, is the head of the Fith Service's Department of Operative Information.

Osechkin told The Times that arrests were made on grounds of embezzlement. "The real reason is unreliable, incomplete and partially false information about the political situation in Ukraine," he said. Soldatov said that President Putin understood that he was misled on the Ukraine situation.

Reportedly, several Russian commanders have also been dismissed ever since the onset of the invasion on February 24. Soldatov said that final reports handed over by the FSB in the run-up to the invasion were "terribly miscalculated."

"The problem is that it is too risky for superiors to tell Putin what he doesn’t want to hear, so they tailor their information," the editor of Agentura added.

The assessment of Ukrainians' support against Russian attack and the extent to which the country would resist was underestimated. As a result, many civilians are joining the Ukrainian Army to resist invasion. The Russian forces had also faced strong retaliation at many points.

Russian airstrike hits base in western Ukraine, kills 35

In the latest development in the ongoing war, multiple Russian missiles struck a military training base near Ukraine’s western border with NATO member Poland, killing at least 35 people, Ukrainian authorities said Sunday. The attack comes after Russia warned of targeting foreign weapon freight that are helping Ukrainian troops safeguard their country against Russia's grinding assault.

Over 30 Russian cruise missiles targeted the facility that is less than 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the closest border point with Poland, according to the governor of Ukraine’s western Lviv region. Poland is a transit route for Western military aid to Ukraine, and the United States increased the number of American troops deployed there.