Putin does not prepare the population for a peace agreement and will continue the war: Isw told about the Kremlin's plans
On May 18, ISW analysts published a report that explored an interview with 11 Russian Armed Forces for The New York Times, a survey of sociologists in the Russian Federation and the messaging in Roszma. It turned out that neither ordinary Russians, nor soldiers, nor Roszmi, nor the Kremlin want the end of the war. Interviews and surveys have shown that the Russian population is not ready for peace with Ukraine, since in this case their victims will prove futile.
The fact that the Kremlin does not plan to negotiate is evidenced by the increase of aggressive rhetoric in Roszma, was wrote ISW. The report showed the opinions of the military, with which NYT managed to talk to the phone. The soldiers were told about exhaustion, but at the same time, the war should continue. At the same time, the Russians claimed that they "need to capture all regions" so as not to "fight for them in the future.
" Another argument in favor of the war: in the case of reconciliation "all the boys were in vain. " Also, the interlocutors of the American media warned that the Russian authorities would not cope with soldiers who will be returned from the battlefield to a peaceful life. "A million angry killers are a serious problem if they consider our rulers to be people who are not on their side," the Russian opinion said. Sociologists also speak about the unwillingness to peace, analysts wrote.
They cited the results of two surveys conducted in the spring of 2025. In one of them, half of civilian Russians did not support the idea of completing the war without fulfilling the requirements of Putin about "denacification, demilitarization of Ukraine". Otherwise, only 18% of the soldiers supported the opinion of the withdrawal of troops and 20% think that the war would end in the near future. In addition, ISW analyzed the narratives in Roszma about war.
Analysts have seen that the Russian population was not preparing for peace and increasing military rhetoric. The same says a fragment of Putin's interview, in which he says that "Russia has enough human resources and materials to bring the war in Ukraine to its logical completion with the necessary results for Russia. " "The Kremlin makes concerted efforts to justify Putin's military goals as existential for the Russian state and to enlist public support for war.
The Kremlin assesses that it has properly prepared Russian society and the military for the scenario - [hostilities, Ukraine has not received. It should be noted that in negotiations with the Russian Federation in Istanbul, the head of the Russian delegation, Putin's assistant Vladimir Medinsky hinted that the Russians are ready to fight for 20 years. In doing so, he cited Otto von Bismarck fake about the Russians, who seem to never give what, as they think, they "belong.