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.”
15 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.”
15 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.”
15 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.”
15 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].”
15 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.”
15 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.”
15 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.”
15 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.”
15 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].”
15 hours ago
“Such an action [the imposition of sanctions that the editor of the Global Times tweets saying that China will take against any country which boycotts the Winter Olympic games] would be an act of international bullying, and immensely damaging to China's standing in the world. I urge you to clarify immediately the position of the Chinese government on this sanctions threat. It is why I believe Britain and our athletes must not take part in the Winter Olympics in China. If we did, knowing what we know, our presence would be seen as cover for a Chinese government committing genocide against its own people. No country wants to pull their athletes out of such major international sporting occasions, but we cannot compromise when it comes to crimes of this nature.”