Kremlin Now Losing in Donbas - Jason Jay Smart [View all]

Russia claimed full control of Luhansk on April 1, but the map still did not match the announcement. That gap matters because Moscow is no longer just trying to take territory. It is trying to force terms before the battlefield can force them for Russia.

The pressure behind that push is getting harder to hide. About 700 drones were launched in 24 hours as Russian ground advances slowed, while the war economy came under heavier strain from weaker oil cash flow, damaged export infrastructure, and worsening industrial margins. Rosneft’s 2025 collapse in profit and free cash flow adds a financial layer to the same crisis.

The political pressure is building too. Putin has now gone a record period without addressing the Federal Assembly, Armenia pushed back publicly in Moscow, and the Hungary Lavrov leak exposed another weak point in Russian influence inside Europe. The pattern is becoming clear: the Kremlin is trying to speed up the endgame because time, leverage, and momentum are no longer moving in its favor.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro: Putin’s Most Dangerous Phase
00:56 - Russia’s Failure: Why Moscow is Losing
02:18 - The Luhansk Lie: Russia’s Empty Victory
03:36 - Battle for Donetsk: Russia’s Stalled Advance
05:51 - Russian Casualties: Ukraine’s Drone Dominance
07:51 - Rosneft Collapse: Russia’s Economic Decay
08:28 - Kremlin Fear: The FSB’s Ruthless Crackdown
09:39 - Russia’s Isolation: Why Allies Abandon Putin
11:21 - Putin’s Fall: The Regime’s Dramatic End