Analysts found out who is pressuring V. Putin to continue the war at any cost

Referring to an article published on Thursday by the independent news site Meduza, they noted that Russian security forces consider it necessary to intensify hostilities in Ukraine instead of seeking a negotiated solution to the war.

The Russians admit that their troops are not making significant territorial gains commensurate with the loss of manpower and equipment. In addition, the Russian military command continues to suffer heavy personnel losses in exchange for tactical but not operational gains.

And Vladimir Putin’s theory of victory, according to analysts, is based on the fact that losses can be accepted as long as Russian forces continue to advance in Ukraine.

“In 2024 by December, after three months of territorial gains and heavy personnel losses in September, October, and November, average daily Russian troop movement had slowed to about nine square kilometers. At the same time, the Russian military leadership may be less willing than Vladimir Putin to tolerate such heavy losses if the pace of the advance continues to slow,” ISW writes.

Russian security services and military officials are not ready to end the war because of these losses. Instead, they are urging Mr. Putin to step up the military effort and propose a partial call-up to the partial reserve and a formal decision to go to martial law, presumably in hopes of filling the battlefield with manpower and equipment.

Reuters/Scanpix/Russian military

Analysts pointed out that Putin opposes the implementation of a partial forced reserve call-up or further mobilization of the Russian economy, as such decisions would be very unpopular among Russians and would further complicate Russia’s labor shortage and economy.

“It remains unclear whether this group of Russian security and military officials, who are calling for further mobilization of the workforce and economy, will succeed in persuading Mr. Putin to take more dramatic measures to meet the needs of the Russian military in Ukraine, although increasing personnel losses and increasing difficulties in meeting voluntary recruitment targets may encourage Mr. Putin to carry out a partial forced call-up of the reserve in the near future,” the report reads.