Russia’s Elite Is Souring on the War. Putin Doesn’t Seem to Care.
Russia’s inability to break through the stalemate in Ukraine is becoming so evident that significant voices in the Russian establishment have publicly started to call for an end to the conflict. People walk along the Floating Bridge at Zaryadye park during sunset in Moscow, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, backdropped by the Kremlin. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov) (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov) The big question is whether President Vladimir Putin will acknowledge this reality and abandon his aspiration to extinguish Ukrainian independence. So far, there is no sign that, in the fifth year of Europe’s bloodiest conflict in generations, he is ready to climb down from the original objectives of his “special military operation.” But that could change if the tide of war turns further in Kyiv’s favor. The calls don’t just come from the business elites and more liberal parts of the Russian establishment. Some of Russia’s best known hawks have also become much more open in expressing a belief that Moscow simply doesn’t have the capacity to achieve an outright victory against Ukraine. One of those is …








