Putin prepare population for protracted war of conquest in Ukraine

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports.

Analysts recalled that during a meeting with the Russian Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC), Putin noted that war in Ukraine could be a "long process," and capture of new territory would be a significant result for Russia.

Experts point out that Putin favorably compared himself to Peter the Great, emphasizing that Russia now controls Sea of ​​Azov, for which Tsar fought.

Analysts write that this appeal to Russian imperial history clearly portrays Putin's current goals in Ukraine as frankly imperialistic and yet maximalist.

At the same time, Russian information space reacted positively to Putin's statement and put forward additional conditions for prolonging war.

One milblogger, comparing Ukraine with Syria, noted that Russian troops won significant victories on the battlefield only years after the start of operation.

Kremlin has been creating information conditions to drag out war in Ukraine since summer after Russian forces failed to secure and hold their primary objectives.

Experts say that this information conditioning is fundamentally incompatible with any discussion of ceasefire or negotiations. Putin appears unwilling to risk losing domestic momentum by halting his offensive operations even briefly, let alone to pursue an off-ramp short of his full objectives, which, as he is making increasingly clear, appear to include the reconstitution of the Russian Empire in some form.