'Supporters Of Great Russia': Ukraine Allegedly Receiving Intelligence From Putin's Inner Circle

As tensions in Ukraine continue to rise over a new offensive that may be carried out by Russia, Kyiv's Ministry of Defense said they were receiving intelligence from Vladimir Putin's inner circle.

"In war, we use all means allowed by law. We have found a mechanism of cooperation even with people very close to Putin. These people are beyond any suspicion, they are known as supporters of 'great Russia'," Andrii Cherniak, representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, said in an interview with the Greek news outlet Iefimerida.

However, Cherniak pointed out in many cases the reason for these Russian officials to cooperate with Ukraine wasn't their friendly feelings toward Kyiv. It was because many in Putin's inner circle did not support the current Russian policy with regard to Ukraine.

"They are all doing this for their own benefit, it is in their interests. Some do it in order to save their lives. Some because they are losing money. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a lot of people started losing their money and influence far too quickly. They don't like it," he explained.

Cherniak said these people do not plan to carry out any coup d'état in the Russian Federation, but "if he [Putin] loses power, they will destroy him."

However, International Business Times could not independently verify the claims.

Many Russians have suffered since last year due to the government's decision to carry out the full-scale offensive in Ukraine. Several people lost their close family members, who were fighting in Ukraine, and some have been fired from their jobs as international companies withdrew operations in Russia amid the war.

Russian soldiers have also complained about being stuck in the warzone, unable to return home, despite their contracts expiring.

"As of January 9, three-month contracts expired for soldiers in one of the units of the occupiers' force operating in the Luhansk region. Due to this, nearly 300 servicemen have been stripped of allowances. At the same time, they are not being dismissed from service in the wake of the ongoing mobilization," Ukraine's General Staff said in an update on Facebook.