Jimmy Rushton
“Shoigu's replacement with a (relatively experienced and apparently competent) economist [Andrei Belousov] pretty clearly signals Putin believes victory in Ukraine will come via outproducing (and outlasting) Ukraine and her Western allies. He's preparing for many more years of war.”
17 hours ago
Konstantin Sonin
“Things are not going according to Putin's plan, but he will endlessly rotate the same small group of loyalists. Putin has always feared to bring new people to the positions of authority - even in the best of times, they must have been nobodies with no own perspectives. Toward the end of his rule, even more so.”
17 hours ago
Mark Galeotti
“With an economist taking over the Defence Ministry, and the old minister taking up a policy and advisory role, the technocrats are in the ascendant. The goal though is not peace, but a more efficient war. As Putin digs in for the long term, with the 'special military operation' now being the central organising principle of his regime, he knows he needs technocrats to keep his war machine going.”
18 hours ago
Jeff Hawn
“This indicates that the Kremlin is not seeking an exit from Ukraine, but once to extend their ability to endure the conflict as long as possible. Russia is very limited [on] how much they can increase scale, due to economic deficiencies. However, they can maintain a certain level of attritional warfare. And are likely hoping to do that longer than Ukraine can.”
18 hours ago
Dmitry Peskov
“Today, the winner on the battlefield is the one who is more open to innovation, more open to implementation as quickly as possible. It is natural that at the current stage the president [Vladimir Putin] decided that the Ministry of Defence should be headed by a civilian [Andrei Belousov].”
18 hours ago
Jimmy Rushton
“Shoigu's replacement with a (relatively experienced and apparently competent) economist [Andrei Belousov] pretty clearly signals Putin believes victory in Ukraine will come via outproducing (and outlasting) Ukraine and her Western allies. He's preparing for many more years of war.”
17 hours ago
Konstantin Sonin
“Things are not going according to Putin's plan, but he will endlessly rotate the same small group of loyalists. Putin has always feared to bring new people to the positions of authority - even in the best of times, they must have been nobodies with no own perspectives. Toward the end of his rule, even more so.”
17 hours ago
Mark Galeotti
“With an economist taking over the Defence Ministry, and the old minister taking up a policy and advisory role, the technocrats are in the ascendant. The goal though is not peace, but a more efficient war. As Putin digs in for the long term, with the 'special military operation' now being the central organising principle of his regime, he knows he needs technocrats to keep his war machine going.”
18 hours ago
Jeff Hawn
“This indicates that the Kremlin is not seeking an exit from Ukraine, but once to extend their ability to endure the conflict as long as possible. Russia is very limited [on] how much they can increase scale, due to economic deficiencies. However, they can maintain a certain level of attritional warfare. And are likely hoping to do that longer than Ukraine can.”
18 hours ago
Dmitry Peskov
“Today, the winner on the battlefield is the one who is more open to innovation, more open to implementation as quickly as possible. It is natural that at the current stage the president [Vladimir Putin] decided that the Ministry of Defence should be headed by a civilian [Andrei Belousov].”
18 hours ago
“It's unclear what other parts of the government may have known what was going on, but clearly, fairly high-level and mid-level Saudi officials working for the government were part of this conspiracy.”