The CIA was right: Putin began to look for scapegoats

Sources of the OBOZREVATEL publication (https://bit.ly/3vNaJVd)
report that the other day, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed
the head of the control and audit department of the Presidential
Administration Dmitry Shalkov, the head of the Investigative
Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin, the
Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov and the first deputy director of the
FSB Sergei Korolev to conduct a thorough review of the use of funds
allocated for subversive activities in Ukraine and the formation of
a "fifth column" in 2014-2022.
People who were in charge of the "Ukrainian direction" are under
suspicion of embezzling funds: former presidential aide Vladislav
Surkov, former head of the department for cultural and public
relations with neighboring countries, General Vladimir Chernov, his
successor in this post, Igor Maslov, head of the 5th FSB Service
General Sergei Beseda, head of Rossotrudnichestvo Yevgeny Primakov,
former curators of the Ukrainian direction under the Ministry of
Economic Development Mikhail Babich and Yana Lantratova, the current
"Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia" Inal Ardzinba and a number
of other characters. Sources say that the Kremlin suspects these former
and current officials of "assimilating" about $5 billion, which should
have been used for subversive activities in Ukraine. At the same time,
the work for which billions of dollars were allocated, they completely
failed. Moreover, the "executors", according to our sources, fed Putin
blatant disinformation about the situation and real sentiments in
Ukraine. Based on this disinformation, Putin ultimately decided to
send troops to the territory of a sovereign independent neighboring
state.
The Kremlin allocated funds embezzled by the mentioned characters
to finance a network of pro-Russian activists, organize round tables,
and conduct campaign work. “Putin frankly believed that the funds
spent were used to create a powerful network of opposition-minded
individuals who were just waiting for the time when the Russians would
come and free them from the oppression of the “fascists.” In Putin’s
mind, there were initiative groups to create new “people’s republics”,
agents among nationalists and so on," source assures.