the elites do not believe in Putin’s chances of winning the war in Ukraine

The Russian elite is tired of the war and wants it to end, although it is doubtful that Putin will stop the hostilities. Bloomberg writes about this with reference to seven sources familiar with the situation.

The best outcome for the Kremlin, even the most optimistic sources of the agency, call the negotiations and the freezing of the conflict by the end of the year, after which Putin could declare a pyrrhic victory for Russia, retaining part of the captured Ukrainian territory.

Although no one from the elites wants to confront the president in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it shook absolute faith in his leadership, said four interlocutors of the agency.

“The elite is at a dead end: they fear becoming scapegoats for a senseless war,” said Kirill Rogov, a former adviser to the Russian government who left the country after the invasion.

Bloomberg describes the mood of many representatives of the political and business elites in Russia regarding the prospects of the war in Ukraine as “a thickening despondency”, which, as the agency notes, is likely to increase the transfer of responsibility for the failed invasion with huge losses without any significant successes on the battlefield .

Drone attacks inside Russia, including in Moscow, increase the feeling of insecurity, and the spread of hostilities to the Belgorod region “challenged the image” of Putin as the guarantor of Russia’s security, say Bloomberg interlocutors.

In this situation, they note, even those who support the invasion were disappointed in Russia’s prospects for the war, which was supposed to end within a few days, but has been going on for a year and a half already.

One of them is State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin, who doubted the achievement of the goals of the so-called special military operation.

Most representatives of the elite “do not raise their heads” and continue their work, convinced that they cannot influence events, the agency’s interlocutors say. According to them, Vladimir Putin shows no signs of wanting to end the war.

Earlier, the magazine Politico reported that the transition of the military conflict to a frozen stage is considered one of the possible scenarios for the development of events in the administration of US President Joe Biden.

The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly said that they will not accept any proposals that provide for the loss of territory or the freezing of the conflict.

The Kremlin said that Moscow opposes the freezing of the conflict with Ukraine and will pursue the goal of the war in Ukraine “either by means of a special military operation or by other available means.”