“Ending the war without achieving its main goal is truly politically dangerous for Putin,” the words of veteran German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger, president of the Munich Security Conference, ambassador to Washington and head of the German delegation in the peace talks to end the war in Bosnia. Because: «Giving up and accepting a ceasefire is very difficult for those who started a war that caused a very high number of victims. That person will have to consider what the mothers of fallen soldiers will say.” In a way, however, this conundrum also represents an opportunity for diplomacy, Ischinger added: “We can argue, Vladimir, that the longer this continues, the stronger the reaction will be at some point.”
Not only according to The Wall Street Journal, Russian officials insist that they can continue to fight forever, overcoming the resistance of their adversaries. In reality, of course, the Russian economy is increasingly weakening. It is difficult to gauge the true level of public discontent in a repressive society, but it is clear that many Russians do not share Putin’s obsession with destroying Ukraine, regardless of the cost to their own future. Even Putin’s entourage would only be waiting for signs of weakness on his part, to dismiss him or in any case boycott his ambitions for an all-out war.
