It’s not a clown show. It’s intentional. And it’s working. I’m 99% this was an intentional leak by the West. The first sign is that it was released by TASS, not the Russian government. They were supposedly fed information by a Russian group of hackers. But it smells a lot like these hackers may have been an EU/US intelligence agency.
Why? Because this pops the cherry around the West having soldiers in Ukraine. Unless Russia fires its nukes or attacks a NATO country, this now makes it a fact that the west has soldiers on the ground in Ukraine. This achieves two things.
Now, gently, the West can expand the envelope, and Russia’s boiling frog situation prevents it from having an explosive reaction.
Secondly it derisks Western soldiers dying in Ukraine. Think about it: What’s a better, less risky news story; Russia has killed western soldiers in Ukraine by accident or WE HAVE FUCKING TROOPS IN UKRAINE?!?! AND RUSSIA HAS KILLED THEM?!?!