Putin Is Waging War Against Russia Too

As a direct consequence of their country's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, over 300,000 Russians have been killed or wounded, and tens of millions more are economically worse off than they were on February 23, 2022. Although over 70% of Russian respondents continue to tell pollsters that they "personally support the actions of the Russian military in Ukraine," Kremlin-controlled propaganda has largely succeeded in preventing its audience from learning the truth about Russian forces butchering Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, or about the Russian military's use of Russian convicts as cannon fodder, or the ongoing Russian shelling of civilian neighborhoods in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson.

There is every reason to believe that, if Russians were aware of why their armed forces were sent into Ukraine and what it has done in the nearly two years since openly attacking, they would be opposed. As late as December 2021, polling showed that only 8% of Russians supported "send[ing] Russian armed forces to participate in battles in Ukraine."

As a likely result of this fact, the Kremlin's domestic propaganda campaign in the weeks leading up to the invasion did not focus on concepts of patriotism, imperialism, or history, nor did it claim that Kyiv would fall "in three days." Instead, Russia's rulers prepared their population for war by claiming right up until the very end that there was no Russian invasion force positioned on Ukraine's borders and that war was anything but "imminent."

The lie worked. In September 2021, only 47% of Russians said that they "would like to see Vladimir Putin in the post of president after the end of his current term in 2024." Yet despite the sanctions, isolation, death, and destruction that Vladimir Putin has brought on his own country in the years since, in December 2023 an all-time high 78% of Russians answered that they hoped to see their president-for-life continue in office following the elections that are slated to be held this coming March.

Contrary to Kremlin officials' increasingly outlandish words, Putin and those around him do not act as if they are involved in an existential struggle against the "Collective West." Their invasion of Ukraine has left Russia's western border—the one with NATO–significantly less physically protected than it was. Instead, the Kremlin acts as if it understands that the real threat to the current regime's continuing rule is domestic. While its forward progress on the battlefield in Ukraine has stalled, its war against Russia itself has—thus far—proven to be a paradoxical success.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has issued a warning to countries preparing for a potential war with Russia. Speaking at a press briefing at the United Nations headquarters in New York City Wednesday, Lavrov commented on the calls by many Western nations that have anticipated a potential conflict with Russia in the coming years, saying that he hopes "that those who warn about the need to prepare for war with Russia still have the instinct of self-preservation."

By Aila Slisco

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has announced that his country intends to ratify Sweden's entry into NATO, delivering yet another blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin's hopes of limiting the strategic alliance.

The Russian president cited concerns about NATO expanding as one of the reasons for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Regardless, the alliance has continued to grow since Putin's invasion was launched on February 24, 2022, with Finland joining last year and its neighbor Sweden being set along the same path.

Potential obstacles to Sweden's accession, including perceived opposition from Turkey and Hungary, have been disappearing at a dizzying pace this week. Turkey's parliament voted to endorse Sweden's membership on Tuesday, and Orbán asserting on Wednesday that he had "reaffirmed" his support of the alliance expanding to Stockholm.

Orbán said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, that he had spoken to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg over the phone to voice his support for Sweden's membership and would "continue to urge the Hungarian National Assembly to vote in favor of Sweden's accession and conclude the ratification at the first possible opportunity."

The Hungarian parliament is in recess until February 15. Sweden could become a NATO member in short order if the legislative body takes Orbán's advice and votes to endorse its membership after reconvening, although Turkish President Recep Erdoğan also has to sign his parliament's bill into law before the process can move forward.

Newsweek reached out for comment to Putin's office and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email on Wednesday.

One day before professing his support for Sweden joining the alliance, Orbán sent a letter to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson urging him to "visit Hungary at your earliest convenience" to negotiate issues including Sweden's entry into NATO, according to Politico.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström reportedly responded to Orbán's request by roundly rejecting it, saying that he saw "no reason to negotiate at this point" and Sweden hoped "that Hungary will ratify membership as soon as possible."

Orbán, who could soon take the reins of the European Council, is considered by some to be one of Putin's only allies among NATO leaders. Orbán's announcement on Wednesday was not the only indication that any remaining support for Russia among NATO allies was dissolving.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, another leader from a NATO nation who has made pro-Russia remarks during the Ukraine war, signed a statement on the same day supporting "the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine."

Sweden's entry into NATO would complete the transformation of the Baltic Sea into what some have dubbed "NATO lake," as the other nations on the body of water—Finland, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia—are all members of the alliance.

The only exception left would be the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which is on the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Poland.

Putin has recently claimed he is "interested in developing relations" with NATO members, saying last month that Russia has "no reason" and "no geopolitical interest" to "fight with" member states.

Dr. Erwan Lagadec, associate research professor at George Washington University's Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, told Newsweek on Tuesday that Putin is "fully cognizant of the fact that there's not much he can do" concerning NATO's expansion, "as his military is already overstretched in Ukraine."