ISW: Putin Has Begun To Acknowledge Setbacks In The War With Ukraine
- 13.06.2026, 9:14
Analysts explained what lies behind these statements.
During the celebrations for Russia Day on June 12, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin once again made a series of statements about the Russian Federation’s military might. At the same time, he acknowledged some setbacks of the Russian army on the battlefield in recent months.
At the same time, the dictator refuses to acknowledge the scale of the challenges facing the aggressor state and, it seems, has no intention of ending the war. The reasons and purpose behind Putin’s new statements analyzed at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW)
Putin acknowledged some setbacks of the Russian army in Ukraine
On Russia Day, Putin, accompanied by Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, met with Russian occupiers. During the meeting, they emphasized their commitment to military victory in Ukraine and to achieving the goals and objectives set by the dictator.
Putin used this meeting to boast about the Russian Federation’s “military might.” For instance, he praised Russian military-technological innovations, specifically FPV drones, the integration of artificial intelligence into drones, the scaling up of tactical electronic warfare systems, and Russia’s efforts to create a satellite constellation, an alternative to Starlink. The dictator attempted to portray the Russian military as a technologically advanced force making rapid progress.
Putin also highlighted recent social support measures for Russian soldiers, veterans, and their families.
At the same time, the Russian dictator repeated the Kremlin’s long-standing rhetorical clichés: Russia, he claimed, is waging a war against NATO—and, according to Putin, is demonstrating its strength in this war.
“Putin likely intended to use the meeting with Russian servicemen to demonstrate his strength at the Russia Day celebrations following the embarrassment of the significantly scaled-back May 9 parade and successful Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian military targets in St.St. Petersburg during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) from June 3 to 6,” analysts noted.
They pointed out that Putin appears to have begun acknowledging some of the setbacks currently facing the Russian military. At the same time, he refuses to acknowledge the scale of the military challenges facing Russia.
For instance, Putin mentioned strikes by Ukrainian drones, but interpreted them as an attempt to sow discord in Russian society and inflict economic damage on the Russian Federation. By “strikes by Ukrainian UAVs,” the dictator likely meant both the Ukrainian long-range strike campaign targeting military facilities and oil infrastructure deep within Russian territory, as well as the "middle strike" campaign in the occupied territories of Ukraine, which is causing fuel shortages and serious logistical problems.
However, the dictator refuses to acknowledge the severity of these strikes. He stated that Russia is strengthening its air defense, and that the Russian economy is recovering quickly after the Ukrainian strikes—and threatened “retaliatory” strikes against Ukraine.
Putin also acknowledged that Russian troops are advancing “not as quickly as we [Russia] would like,” but noted that they are still advancing “gradually every day.”
The dictator, as before, refuses to acknowledge that Ukrainian counterattacks since March of this year have brought tactical successes to the Defense Forces in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Contrary to the dictator’s claims of “daily advances” by the occupying army, the ISW noted that the pace of Russian forces’ capture of Ukrainian territory has been steadily declining since November 2025. And in April and May, the occupiers suffered net territorial losses.
“Putin has likely decided to acknowledge some of the setbacks faced by Russian troops in order to appear more attuned to the realities of the battlefield for Russian servicemen who have directly experienced these setbacks. Since early spring 2026, Ukraine has been expanding the scale and scope of its long- and medium-range strike campaign against Russian logistics, military equipment, and manpower, which is hindering Russia’s advance in the theater of operations and disrupting Russian logistics routes through the occupied part of Ukraine, particularly in the south and in occupied Crimea,” analysts concluded.