The Russian invasion is losing steam, and Putin wants to end the war by the end of the year, but on "victorious" terms - Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
The AFU have stabilized the front and are launching drone strikes deep into the Russian Federation. Putin wants to end the war by the end of the year, provided there is full control over the Donbas.
Ukraine and its allies are increasingly confident that the Russian invasion is running out of steam, as Ukraine stabilizes the front line and halts Moscow's spring offensive, while some high-ranking Kremlin officials believe the conflict has reached a stalemate with no clear way out, while Putin wants to end the war by the end of the year, but only on terms he considers victorious, Bloomberg reports, according to UNN.
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Ukraine's growing effectiveness in using drones to inflict significant losses on Russian troops is accompanied by strikes behind the front lines and deep inside Russia, "causing growing internal criticism of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin," the publication writes. "Along with the economic downturn and internet restrictions, this is leading to deepening war fatigue among ordinary Russians," the publication points out.
"The nervous mood is shared by many representatives of the Russian elite; some high-ranking Kremlin officials believe the conflict has reached a stalemate with no clear way to resolve it," say people familiar with the situation.
"Putin wants to end the war by the end of this year, but only on terms he considers victorious, including full control over the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas, which his troops have been unable to capture for over a decade," according to one source, "while seeking a broader security agreement with Europe that would effectively recognize Moscow's territorial gains," the publication writes.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that Putin had set such a deadline, the publication notes.
Ukraine on Thursday announced a significant security reinforcement in the north of the country after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of the risk of a potential Russian offensive from the Bryansk region and Belarus.
Even as Ukraine prepares for an additional Russian offensive this summer, warning that the Kremlin may resort to another unpopular conscription campaign to bolster the offensive, its forces have mostly held the front line since the intensification of fighting following the winter lull. They stabilized a significant part of the front by mid-May, according to DeepState, a conflict mapping service that cooperates with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the publication writes.
"Kyiv has also significantly improved its casualty ratio to approximately one Ukrainian soldier for every five Russian servicemen," Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated last month. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed this assessment in an interview with Fox News on May 13, stating that Ukraine now has the "most powerful armed forces in Europe."
The Ukrainian army is the strongest in Europe - Rubio14.05.26, 19:30 • 9988 views
Drones deployed by Ukraine in increasing numbers have become a turning point in the war, the publication points out.
Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov told reporters earlier this week that Ukraine has significantly "slowed down the enemy's advance and is gradually regaining the initiative." About 35,203 Russian soldiers were killed or seriously wounded in April, and the goal is to "inflict at least 200 casualties on the enemy for every square kilometer of advance," he said.
The minister previously stated that 50,000 Russian casualties per month would make the war unsustainable for Moscow.
"Together with the President and the diplomatic team, we are explaining to our partners that Ukraine is doing its homework," Fedorov told Bloomberg News. "It is now important for our partners to do their part and help scale what is already proving effective today."
Several European diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they "consider the mood in Russia to be grim as the battlefield has reached a stalemate and Kyiv's drone strikes are bringing the war to Moscow."
"Russia is facing setbacks on the battlefield," said Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "To sustain its war effort in Ukraine, the Kremlin will almost certainly have to introduce a second partial mobilization" within the next 12 months, he said.