British colonel declares Putin has no way out of the war

Russia's situation amid the Ukraine war

According to ХВИЛЯ: Speaking on Times Radio, former British Army Colonel Philip Ingram argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin is stuck in a deadlock over the conflict in Ukraine-unable to either press forward or call a halt. With the war dragging on, pressure is mounting on the Kremlin from multiple fronts. Ingram emphasized that Russia's economy is in deep trouble, losing more than 30,000 soldiers every month, and that Putin now faces the threat of another mobilization round after the elections.

Ingram, who served 26 years in the British military and commanded an intelligence battalion, noted that Russia's economy can no longer sustain the war effort. He stressed that

“Putin is cornered. He can't afford to keep the war going, and he can't afford to stop it.”

According to Ingram, the Russian leader operates a wartime economy that relies on constant feeding from the conflict; otherwise, it would collapse.

Internal pressure in Moscow

Ingram believes that Moscow's oligarchs are also feeling the heat.

“There's a real danger they will start losing their positions, their influence, their money,”

he said. He linked this to the hardships ordinary Russians are experiencing, particularly in the cost of living and access to consumer goods.

“They feel it at the gas pump. They feel it in the cost of living,”

Ingram added, highlighting how the war is now hitting home for the Russian population.

In his analysis, Ingram also touched on the strikes against Wildberries warehouses, which killed 8 people and caused 150 billion rubles in damage. These facilities supplied body armor, helmets, and FPV drone components to the front lines. Out of 14 major Wildberries hubs across Russia, the three largest were completely destroyed. The goods lost in the attacks belonged to small business owners and were not insured.

Moscow's stance following the recent meeting between Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov remains unchanged: it demands control over Donbas, limits on Ukraine's military, and no Western troops on the ground. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has also refused to fund the gas pipeline that Putin wanted, declaring, “We'll gladly buy your gas, but you pay for the pipeline yourselves.”

As a result, the situation in Russia and Ukraine stays highly tense, and the Kremlin's next moves are uncertain amid domestic challenges and international pressure. The war's toll on Russia's economy could create new obstacles for the Kremlin, potentially affecting its political stability and ability to sustain the conflict.

As the situation in Ukraine escalates, the impact on Russia's economy becomes increasingly evident. The ongoing conflict has led to significant losses for Moscow, with Ukrainian drones playing a pivotal role in undermining the Russian economy. For a deeper understanding of how these developments are systematically affecting Russia's financial stability, see our analysis on the economic repercussions of Ukraine's drone strikes.