Russian official hits back after analysts assert that she confirmed Kremlin infighting

March 12 (UPI) -- Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry, has hit back after analysts asserted she had confirmed Kremlin infighting.

Zakharova on Sunday shared a post on Telegram from Kirill Vyshinsky, who had blasted the Institute for the Study of War -- a think tank based in Washington, D.C. -- for an analysis of recent comments she made allegedly confirming infighting among Russia's top officials.

Vyshinsky is the former head of the Ukrainian branch of Russian state news agency RIA Novosti who was arrested in Ukraine and charged with treason in 2018, but was exchanged to Russia where he continued his media career.

In his post, Vyshinsky said he had attended the Media Dronnitsa forum where Zakharova made her comments in a discussion with Igor Ashmanov, a member of Russia's Human Rights Council.

"I heard everything from the first to the last word," Vyshinsky claimed.

"They talked about how to strengthen our unity in achieving a common victory, how to make our common confrontation in the information war more effective. They spoke emotionally, argued sharply, but the interest was common -- they talked about unity and efficiency."

Vyshinsky, in his post, appeared to share a Russian translation of the think tank's analysis which he said was circulating on Telegram channels in the country.

He alleged the analysis "attributed meanings and conclusions that did not even exist yesterday" while asserting that the think tank was party to an "information war" partaking in "lies and distortion of meanings."

The Institute for the Study of War had said in its analysis that Zakharova "confirmed that there is infighting in the Kremlin inner circle, that the Kremlin has ceded centralized control over the Russian information space, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently cannot readily fix it."

"Zakharova's statement is noteworthy and supports several of ISW's longstanding assessments about deteriorating Kremlin regime and information space control dynamics," the analysis reads, as the analysts added that "it is unclear why Zakharova -- a seasoned senior spokesperson -- would have openly acknowledged these problems in a public setting."