Curtailed parade dispels mirage of victory in Putin's war

No amount of patriotic propaganda can hide the depletion of Russia’s power resources exposed by the pitiful parade, and Putin is acutely aware of the humiliation Zelenskyy’s gibe has aggravated. He may not understand how false his assertions of a steady march to victory sound, or how pathetic his obsession with his own safety appears. He can hardly ignore the signs of exhaustion from the war course, however, so the next parade can only be even worse. Options for breaking the deadlock through escalation involve significant risks that he is not prepared to take at this late-autumnal phase of life, which remains so precious to him. Making a peace deal is by no means risk-free, but every delay drives him deeper into the position of weakness where riskier concessions become necessary.