Putin is facing growing anger over his handling of Ukraine war (Image: Getty)
Russian elites are increasingly frustrated over Putin’s handling of the war, as the conflict drags on into its third year.
The growing discontent and war fatigue threatens to exasperate splits within the , potentially throwing it into turmoil.
army has leveraged its superiority in manpower and weapons to regain the battlefield initiative over the course of the last twelve months.
Last year, the Kremlin’s forces seized around 1,609 square miles of territory, primarily in the Donbas region.
A Ukrainian tank opens fire (Image: Getty)
However, this represents just 0.69 percent of the country, and the gains have come at a horrific cost in human lives.
is estimated to have lost over 430,000 soldiers last year, according to ‘s Ministry of Defence.
Kremlin hardliners are said to be exasperated at the inability of Russian commanders to translate tactical gains on the frontlines into operationally significant advances.
They blame half-hearted measures adopted by for the lack of progress so far and are demanding an intensification of the war.
A source close to the Presidential Administration told : “The president likes to fight, you can feel the excitement.
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“Why stop halfway if you can finally put the squeeze on them?”
However, they noted that some “patriots” (chiefly high-ranking security officials) were not happy with Putin’s approach.
“What they have is not enough,” the source said. “[They need] mobilisation, a complete transition to a war footing. And that is not the case.”
At the same time, many Kremlin elites are suffering from war weariness and want the conflict to end as soon as possible.
A Kremlin source told the : “The main emotion is disappointment.
“We were waiting for the war to end, for the fighting to end. And fatigue has been the main feeling for a long time. We are tired of even waiting.”
They added that tensions over the economy were reaching boiling point, with sanctions starting to bite “more painfully”.
A further Kremlin insider noted that an end to the war in 2025 could be “potentially critical” for , given the economic and social hardships that would inevitably follow a peace deal.