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.

New poll results suggest an expanding proportion of Americans do indeed believe that both the U.S. and NATO are weakening on the global stage, though few are interested in Putin's offer of future cooperation. The results, released by the Pew Research Center on Wednesday, showed that only 23 percent of Americans believe that NATO's influence is growing stronger; a significant drop from 34 percent of respondents who believed the same in 2022. See more poll results.

By Brendan Cole

Russian troops have made a breakthrough in a key city in the Donetsk region according to Ukraine's armed forces.

Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for Ukraine's Khortytsia operational-strategic group of troops fighting on the front line, said Russian assault groups had advanced into Krasnohorivka, west of the city of Donetsk, and entered the site of an industrial plant.

"Thanks to the efforts of our units, including the 59th brigade, the enemy was blocked and is still there," Voloshyn told Ukraine's Army TV, as reported by Ukrainian media outlets.

"Our defenders fully control both Krasnohorivka and the outskirts of the settlement," he added.

He said that Russia's forces are cut off from ammunition supplies and that its troops were also storming the town of Netaylove 10 miles further north and trying to advance on the eastern part of nearby Pervomaiske, although he insisted "our soldiers are repelling them."

One Russian milblogger said that Moscow's forces had broken through Ukrainian defenses in the east of Krasnohorivka, completely capturing one street, although the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Wednesday there was no visual confirmation of this claim.

Other Russian milbloggers gave accounts on Telegram of the latest situation in the city, which come as Russian forces' momentum continues in Donetsk Oblast amid assessments that they are seeking to capture the city of Chasiv Yar, which would be a springboard into other settlements in the region.

"In Krasnohorivka, the main battles are at the plant, where most of it is ours, but the mop-up operation is still underway, the enemy is sitting tight," wrote "Voenkor Kotenyok."

Meanwhile, the ISW said in its daily update that Moscow's forces had made marginal gains west of Donetsk City but there were no changes to the front line where elements of Russia's 238th Artillery Brigade are operating.

It comes as a Ukrainian airstrike on Thursday in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, by the border with Ukraine, left eight people injured and damaged buildings and vehicles, according to regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov.

Russia continues to fire Shahed-type drones toward Ukraine, launching at least 20 of the devices overnight Wednesday from occupied Crimea. Ukraine's Air Force said it intercepted 17 of the drones over Odesa Oblast, without revealing whether the attack had caused damage.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.