Ukraine's expanding strike campaign undercuts Putin's claims of steady progress

Putin’s inability to manage any aspect of the complex crisis into which Russia is sinking contrasts sharply with his unwavering rhetoric of a steady march to victory. Putin’s grasp on power was once secured by the widespread perception that his rule was based on proper assessments of the scale of imminent dangers. Now, however, his narratives depart so radically from the increasingly worrisome reality that belief in the steadfastness of his leadership is fast evaporating. Crimea has become an exhibit of a sudden transformation of a long-brewing and firmly denied problem into a full-blown disaster. Neither of the overlapping problems that Russia is currently facing has reached the scope of catastrophe, but their combination produces unexpected interplays and multiplicators, and Putin appears unwilling to break this accelerating trend by the most obvious step—ending his war against Ukraine.