The Sunday Times: Putin Received Unexpected Support from Europe.

Military observer Mark Galeotti published a detailed analysis of the situation in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, noting the successes and problems of Russia under the leadership of Vladimir Putin. He wrote about this in an article for The Sunday Times.

Yesterday in Russia, they celebrated "Reunion Day" - this holiday was launched in 2022 in honor of the annexation of four Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Despite the fact that Russia does not fully control them, Putin declared the "truly liberating nature" of the confrontation and confidence in achieving the set goals. However, the celebration passed without much enthusiasm from the population.

Zelensky's “victory plan” was characterized as a “shopping list, not a strategy.” Although the US promised an additional $2.4 billion in aid, Kyiv did not receive permission to use long-range missiles or guarantees of future support,” Galeotti writes.

The article also notes that support for Ukraine in Europe is becoming less stable, and populist parties, which are skeptical of Kyiv, are gaining strength in Germany, France, and Austria. There are also signs that several European governments, including Germany, are starting to lean towards the idea of a “land-for-peace” deal.

On the military front, Russia has achieved some successes. In recent days, the city of Vuhledar has been taken, and there are opportunities to seize the last military base in the Pokrovsk region on the front lines. However, this comes at a high cost - Russia has suffered significant losses on the front, and has intensified attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, creating serious problems for the country.

“Even defense enterprises, which operate around the clock and offer salaries four times higher than the national average face a labor shortage - they have 90,000 unfilled vacancies,” Galeotti wrote.

The article concludes that Ukraine is preparing for a new counteroffensive and is receiving support from Western countries. The possibility of using more powerful American missiles and British military targets on Russian territory is also being considered. Overall, Galeotti believes that Putin has challenges but is trying to impose his terms on the world before tensions in his system become too great.