Russia flexes military muscle ahead of Trump-Putin talks

    
• Russia highlights its military strength before Trump's conversation with Putin.
• ISW highlights the propagandistic nature of the Kremlin's actions.
• Russian soldiers are unwilling to end the war without achieving their goals.

Russia is actively promoting its military might ahead of the planned conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) observes that the Kremlin is attempting to convince the public of its superiority over the West.

Kremlin propagandist Pavel Zarubin released excerpts from an interview with Putin, in which he emphasized Russia's military superiority. Putin claimed that his country has sufficient soldiers and weaponry to bring the war against Ukraine to a "logical end." ISW suggests that such statements are part of a strategy to divert attention from the country's economic issues by boasting about Russia's superiority over the West.

According to ISW, Russia is experiencing heavy losses in the war, which may impact its ability to maintain the current pace of operations. Analysts suggest that Putin may be compelled to make drastic decisions in the coming years.

Russian soldiers, interviewed by journalists from the "New York Times," do not want to conclude the war without capturing the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine. They believe this is the only way to avoid future conflicts. They emphasize that this ensures the death of their comrades will not be in vain.

The Kremlin has conditioned society for war, making it difficult to achieve peace without reaching the set objectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues diplomatic efforts, but talks in Istanbul have not resulted in an agreement. ISW stresses that the talks demonstrated that Russia is not interested in a ceasefire. It also lacks goodwill in negotiations.