In Russia, even among staunch supporters of the war, calls for a pause have emerged
Some of the most radical supporters of the war in Russia have begun to publicly acknowledge that a complete victory over Ukraine is impossible. Some of them are directly calling on the Kremlin to halt hostilities or take a pause to regroup.
An unexpected signal has emerged in Russian political and expert circles—one that was previously almost impossible to hear there— as even those who for years supported the toughest line on Ukraine have now begun to cautiously acknowledge the shift in reality that is obvious to them—the war is not yielding the results promised in Moscow.
According to The Wall Street Journal, this is not about opposition politicians or Kremlin critics, but about people who were previously part of or the ideological backbone of the system, and that is precisely why their current statements sound particularly telling and even alarming to the Russian authorities.
“It is not liberals or business leaders—it is the Kremlin’s most prominent hardliners who were the first to openly acknowledge that a complete victory over Ukraine is unattainable,” the WSJ article states, describing the new mood among part of the Russian elite.
Among these voices, Oleg Tsarev stands out—a former Ukrainian politician and one of the most prominent public advocates the “Russian World,” who began speaking on his Telegram channel about the dangerous illusions of propaganda and how belief in a quick victory could be self-deception that only worsens the situation.
Even harsher words came from Alexei Chadayev, a historian and former Kremlin official who now heads a center for unmanned warfare research, as he directly stated that continuing the current course leads Russia not to victory but to defeat, and effectively called for a pause to regroup forces—a significant shift in the rhetoric of someone associated with military development.
Equally telling was the position of Vasily Kashin of the Higher School of Economics, who in his analysis effectively acknowledged that even after massive losses, Ukraine will remain anti-Russian and pro-Western, and that a change of power in Kyiv does not guarantee a change in its course, which undermines one of the basic narrative constructs of Russian propaganda.
Separately, he noted that even radical scenarios, including the elimination of the Ukrainian leadership, may not lead to the desired result but rather to the emergence of an even tougher and more motivated political generation, while a nuclear escalation, in his words, would merely freeze the conflict without a real victory for Moscow.
The WSJ concludes that the main question now is not merely whether the situation on the front lines will change, but whether the Kremlin is ready to listen even to its own “hawks,” who effectively acknowledge the limits of Russia’s military capabilities and warn of the risk of a protracted and fruitless war. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has published an open letter to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The document formally proposes ending the war through direct bilateral talks between the leaders and implementing a complete ceasefire.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow is allegedly ready for negotiations to end the war against Ukraine, but sees no willingness for dialogue on the Ukrainian side.
Putin is not changing course and continues to finance the war.
