The Guardian: Disappointment in Vladimir Putin Is Growing Among the Russian Elite
According to The Guardian, disappointment in Russian ruler Vladimir Putin is growing among Russian elites due to the prolonged war in Ukraine and the economic downturn in Russia, UATV English informs.
The Guardian reported this citing sources.
As the publication notes, “interviews with several individuals from the Russian leader’s inner circle, as well as sources in Russian business circles and representatives of Western intelligence services, paint a picture of an isolated leader surrounded by an elite rapidly losing its illusions both about the prolonged war in Ukraine and the economic decline in the country.”
“This year, the mood among the elite has definitely changed… there is deep disappointment in Putin,” said a source whom The Guardian described as “a business leader with extensive connections.”
According to the source, “there is a growing sense that some kind of catastrophe is approaching.”
“No one believes that everything will suddenly collapse tomorrow. But there is increasing awareness that completely senseless, self-destructive decisions continue to be made. People who once defended Putin no longer do so. Any sense of the future has disappeared,” the publication’s interlocutor noted.
As stated in the article, Putin’s ratings are declining, the economy is under increasing pressure, and even pro-Kremlin bloggers who previously rarely criticized the Russian ruler are beginning to express dissatisfaction.
Despite emerging cracks inside the country, Putin’s approach to the war in Ukraine has not changed, and he remains determined to continue it, according to interviews with several people familiar with his views, as well as European and Ukrainian intelligence officials.
Putin has reportedly made it clear to his closest circle that he believes Moscow will be able to seize the entire Donbas by the end of the year, two sources with access to the Russian ruler told the publication.
“Putin is obsessed with Donbas and will not stop until he achieves his goal,” one of them said.
Commenting on Putin’s statement that the war in Ukraine is supposedly “approaching its end,” sources said this should not be interpreted as a sign of readiness for compromise. Instead, it indicates that Putin considers a military breakthrough inevitable.
A representative of Ukrainian intelligence stated that Russian generals have convinced the Russian leader that Donbas will be captured by the end of the year.
It remains unclear how much Russia’s military and intelligence services are presenting Putin with an overly optimistic picture, the publication writes.
“Even if many around him understand the reality of the situation, we still do not know what Putin himself actually understands. That is the greatest difficulty,” one senior European intelligence official noted.
“Of course, officials and the military paint a rosy picture for the president. They lie to him. That is exactly how the system created by Putin works,” said a source familiar with discussions in the Kremlin.
Another factor influencing Putin’s decision to continue the war is that the Russian leader has lost faith in the ability of Donald Trump to force Kyiv to cede territory as part of a settlement, according to a source close to Putin and another involved in unofficial negotiations.
“There was general optimism in Moscow that Trump would be able to hand over Donbas after his election. It has largely disappeared,” said one source maintaining contact with Putin.
At present, Moscow’s goal is the seizure of Donbas. However, people close to Putin say his ambitions could grow again if he feels that Ukraine is beginning to collapse. Then, according to two people familiar with his thinking, he could go further, crossing the Dnipro River in an attempt to seize all four Ukrainian regions that Russia wrote into its Constitution as “its own” in 2022 but still does not fully control.
“He is not a strategist who thinks long term. His appetite grows with eating,” one interlocutor said.
Another topic being discussed within Moscow’s elite is internet restrictions in Russia.
“At the dinner table, everyone talks about the internet. We have now moved somewhat closer to North Korea,” one Kremlin insider noted.
Chinese internet control measures, previously mocked in Russia as symbols of censorship, are now being discussed with a certain degree of envy, the publication writes.
At the same time, according to two people familiar with the discussions, some representatives of Russia’s political elite, including Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko, privately tried to dissuade Putin from some of the harshest restrictions, but without success.
A senior European intelligence official noted that many within the Russian leadership “are currently at the stage of realization,” acknowledging the growing problems both on the battlefield and in the economy, but without any plans to overcome them.
“They understand that the situation is getting worse. But I have not heard them asking… ‘So what are we going to do about it?’” the European intelligence representative said.
Read also: Kaja Kallas: Russian “Oreshnik” Strikes Are a Tactic of Intimidation
- Last
News by day
27 of May 2026
