Russian president Vladimir Putin has yet to achieve success in his war against Ukraine and still shows no signs of readiness for constructive peace talks.
Since 2014, when Russia launched its aggression against Ukraine, Putin has failed to occupy the entirety of the Donbas region, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with WirtschaftsWoche.
The Kremlin chief hoped Russia’s army would take control of key cities within weeks during the full-scale invasion. That didn’t happen, and Putin lost more than half of the territory Russian forces temporarily seized in 2022.
Stoltenberg acknowledged Russia has notched some battlefield gains. Moscow’s troops continue to advance slowly and have captured some areas, but those gains are coming “at great cost.”
“The hallmark of regimes like Putin’s is that they only appear very strong - until they suddenly are not,” the former NATO chief emphasized.
Earlier this year, analysts at DeepState estimated that as of January 1, Russian forces controlled 116,165 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory - about 19.25% of the country.
At the same time, Stoltenberg argued Putin can be compelled into constructive peace talks on Ukraine. With the conflict now a war of attrition, Western partners must continue to support Kyiv and the Ukrainian military. That sustained backing is likely to push the Kremlin leader to show readiness for progress in negotiations to end the war.
