ISW: Kremlin Tries To Conceal Its Failure

Putin is worried about ratings.

Russian propaganda media and officials of the aggressor country refrained from commenting on the second anniversary of the start of the full-scale invasion. The reason for this is unwillingness to draw attention to the failures in achieving the declared strategic goals and to the significant losses of personnel of the Russian army. This is stated in the report of analysts of the Institute for the Study of War.

At the same time, ISW experts note that a recent Russian public opinion poll showed that Russians' sentiments regarding the war in Ukraine have remained largely unchanged over the past months. Most Russians are basically apathetic about the war, although they do not support the second wave of mobilisation.

Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and Russian officials have likely refrained from covering the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion in an attempt to maintain public apathy toward the war, which in part allows Russian officials to continue the war without significant public reaction.

Putin is likely aware that the second wave of mobilisation would be largely unpopular and is concerned that such a measure would cause widespread discontent.

However, analysts believe that the Russian dictator may become less concerned about public sentiment after his re-election in March 2024 and decide that Russia's needs to build up its armed forces are outweighing the risks of widespread domestic discontent.