On the economic front, Putin himself recently revealed that GDP contracted in the first two months of the year.
And on the Ukraine front, Russian forces suffered a net loss of territory last month for the first time since 2024.
“The overall mood is that’s enough already; you’ve been fighting for long enough,” a Russian official told the Washington Post last week on condition of anonymity.
With Western military aid and innovations from Ukraine’s now-thriving domestic defense industry, Kyiv has weakened Russia’s economy and military.
Long-range drone strikes deep into Russian territory have damaged key oil-export hubs and “shadow fleet” tankers transporting sanctioned crude.
Recognizing the growing economic despair, some Russian officials have publicly addressed the dire situation.
In fact, Russian statistics show that nonpayments of commercial bills hit a record high of $109 billion in January. »