U.S. intelligence officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by advisers about his military’s poor performance in Ukraine.

The advisers are scared to tell him the truth, the intel released by the White House said.

The findings, recently declassified, indicate that Putin is aware of the situation on information coming to him and there now is persistent tension between him and senior Russian military officials.

The U.S. believes Putin is being misled not only about his military’s performance but also “how the Russian economy is b eing crippled by sanctions because, again, his senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said Wednesday.

Earlier, President Joe Biden said in an exchange with reporters that he could not comment on the intelligence.

The administration is hopeful that divulging the finding could help prod Putin to reconsider his options in Ukraine, according to a U.S. official.

“What it does is underscore that this has been a strategic blunder for Russia,” Bedingfield said of the intelligence finding.

“But I’m not going to characterize how … Vladimir Putin might be thinking about this.”