Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is facing increasing pressure both at the front and within the country. The Russian army’s offensive is slowing down, resources are being depleted, and Ukrainian drone strikes are hitting the logistics and economy of the Russian Federation increasingly hard.
Military analysts are increasingly coming to the conclusion that Putin’s war aims, despite his insistence, are becoming increasingly unattainable.
MSTA-S Russian Army. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Putin’s growing frustration is forcing him into a corner as he desperately tries to find a way out. And he’s lashing out and taking reprisals against Ukraine’s civilian population.
Massive Drone And Missile Strike Overnight
Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack that killed at least 22 people across Ukraine overnight, targeting Ukrainian civilians.
On Tuesday morning, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said Russia had launched 656 strike drones and 73 missiles of various types – ballistic, cruise, and anti-ship in the overnight attack.
“We urgently need help from the United States in supplying missiles for Patriot systems”, Zelenskyy said, referring to the air defense missiles used to intercept Russian missiles. But those have been in short supply as the US has been using them in the Middle East to shoot down Iranian ballistic missiles.
Russia Is Beginning To See The Futility Of Its Invasion
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has dragged on for more than four years, and it appears that Russia, which thought that it’d take Kyiv in a few days and the entire country in a few weeks, is locked in a quagmire that it cannot win.
Russian academic Vasily Kashin, the Director of the prestigious Higher School of Economics’ Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies, wrote a scathing article on the site “Russia in Global Affairs,” in which he stated that Russia cannot win the war.
“The elimination of the anti-Russian regime is fundamentally unattainable without a full military occupation of the entire country for a long period. For Russia, this is technically impossible.”
He added, “Hopes of annexing new large Ukrainian territories to Russia in the event of a hypothetical collapse of the Ukrainian front seem outlandish. Russia lacks the capacity to sustainably control and manage such territories.”
Su-25. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
According to Kashin, “We have no reason to expect the positional stalemate in the war in Ukraine to be overcome in the foreseeable future.” He added that “the idea that we can quickly collapse the Ukrainian front by ‘mobilizing, straining ourselves, and striking with all our might’ should also be discarded and forgotten. The Russian command is acting within its existing limitations, striving to achieve the best possible result.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating (conducted by government sources) is falling, although still high. But ordinary citizens are growing tired of a long war that is long on promises and short on results.
“The general mood is: enough, we’ve been fighting for too long already. It feels to everyone like this has lasted longer than World War II, and at the same time, we still can’t even capture a single region,” an anonymous Russian official said to the Washington Post.
Russia’s Horrific Casualties And Equipment Losses
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), as of late May 2026, Russia has suffered more than 1.3 million casualties (killed and wounded) in Ukraine since the February 2022 invasion. More than 352,000 of these are believed to be fatalities.
Despite rosy combat assessments by his generals, Putin’s forces are making very minimal gains (15 to 70 meters per day) but at casualty rates of up to 1,000 troops per day.
Their meat-grinding tactics have resulted in more combat losses over two months (December 2025 and January 2026) than the number of troops newly mobilized and contracted, according to the George W. Bush Presidential Center.
Russia’s horrific casualties have forced Moscow to turn to foreign fighters “often recruited under false pretenses and press-ganged under pressure,” according to U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey.
Ukraine War Map. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) observed evidence to assess that Russian forces gained control of or infiltrated 40.64 square kilometers between December 2025 and May 2026. Russian forces, however, lost 281.1 square kilometers in the same period when considering only the territory they control.”
Ukrainian Drone Strikes Are An Embarrassment To Putin
Ukrainian drone strikes have increasingly hit deep inside of Russia, and Putin’s major embarrassment was the annual May Day parade, where Ukraine “permitted” the Kremlin to hold the parade (without tanks and rockets) without conducting strikes.
Because of these drone threats, the ISW also reported that Russian authorities are being forced to restrict the use of airspace in the Moscow air zone. The Russian Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) claimed on May 25 that Russian authorities will begin prohibiting civilian flights in the Moscow air zone at altitudes from 0 to 5,100 meters starting on June 1.
Russian authorities closed the Kaliningrad airport due to a reported drone threat for the first time on May 25.
Ukrainian drone attacks continue to target Moscow’s oil production facilities, effectively shutting down the Syzran Oil Refinery, which refines about 170,000 barrels a day.
Russians Are Openly Questioning The Cost
This is taking a huge toll on an already strained Russian economy, with budgets feeling the pinch.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has already warned of large-scale spending cuts in all areas except defense and social payments.
“Our reserves are not limitless,” he said.
Bloomberg reported that Russian financial officials are warning Putin that the war is becoming too expensive for the Russian budget. The budget deficit is growing, economic growth has nearly stalled, and the military leadership is demanding billions more dollars to continue hostilities.
Unattainable Goals
Analysts increasingly recognize that Russia’s primary war goals—such as the full occupation of Ukraine and regime change in Kyiv—are fundamentally unattainable.
Ukrainian drone and missile strikes are systematically degrading Russian logistics and the domestic economy, making the cost of sustaining the war aggressively high.
And Putin’s terror campaign through the drone and missile attacks on civilians just highlights the desperation that he now feels.
Many analysts believe that Putin will once again resort to nuclear blackmail in an attempt to win strategic concessions from the West.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
