Putin will not abandon the war against Ukraine: Portnikov explains the Kremlin’s change in tactics

The president of the aggressor state, Vladimir Putin, may change his tactics in waging war against Ukraine, but he will not abandon its ultimate goals.

This opinion was expressed by political commentator and journalist Vitaliy Portnikov.

According to him, the tactics of the war may change simply because the Russian president may lack the strength to further advance his army across Ukrainian territory.

“The war of attrition tactic does not yield the short-term results Putin expected, when he decided to resort to terror against the Ukrainian civilian population. It is not prompting Ukrainian society to quickly capitulate to a brutal aggressor,” the journalist noted.

Why Putin will continue the war in Ukraine

At the same time, Portnikov believes that the Kremlin's master, as a hardened Soviet Chekist, is obsessed with overcoming the consequences of the so-called “mistake of 1991,” when the Soviet Union collapsed.

“All the efforts of Russia’s Federal Security Service and Putin, who represents the Russian Chekists in the Kremlin, are tied to the need to restore the so-called territorial integrity of the true Russian state — which, on Lubyanka, continues to be understood as the Soviet Union,” he emphasized.

The journalist points out that the Kremlin understands the revival of the Soviet empire is impossible without annexing Ukraine — including pushing Russian troops as far as Zakarpattia.

“That is precisely why Putin is unlikely to abandon the ongoing war against Ukraine,” he asserts.

According to Vitaliy Portnikov, one factor that might force Putin to put the war on pause could be the threat of deteriorating U.S.-Russia relations due to continued fighting — and even new unexpected sanctions from the Donald Trump administration against the Russian economy.