They warned that if Putin failed to secure a decisive military victory, he would face growing pressure from the Russian public to end the conflict on terms less favorable to Moscow.
“Putin’s strategic goal is to force Ukraine into a settlement that would see it cede control of its eastern regions and abandon its ambitions to join Nato,” the paper said. “But if he can’t get a deal that’s acceptable to Russia, he risks being seen as a failure.”
As Putin continues to push for his maximalist demands, the conflict in Ukraine shows no signs of abating. The coming weeks will be crucial in determining whether a ceasefire can be achieved and whether a lasting peace settlement is possible.
For now, the fate of Ukraine hangs in the balance as Putin and Trump navigate the complex geopolitical landscape in search of a resolution to the ongoing crisis.
Rekaman keberhasilan di medan perang telah memperkuat sentimen pro-perang, sementara pemborosan Rusia pada ekonomi perangnya telah menciptakan konstituensi industrialis dan tentara yang memiliki kepentingan dalam mempertahankan pertempuran, demikian mereka menulis.
Putin tampaknya bermain dengan perasaan itu minggu lalu, ketika ibu seorang tentara Rusia yang meninggal dalam pertempuran mengatakan kepadanya bahwa Rusia “harus pergi sampai akhir [dan] tidak membuat pengorbanan apa pun”. Putin menjawab: “Kami tidak berencana melakukannya.”
Penyuntingan tambahan oleh Anastasia Stognei di Berlin dan Fabrice Deprez dan Polina Ivanova di Kyiv; kartografi oleh Steven Bernard