Putin's War Is Now a Huge Fight Inside Moscow - Jason Jay Smart

Putin’s war in Ukraine is exposing a weaker Moscow, as Kremlin infighting, Russia’s stalled frontline, fading oil leverage, and Putin’s succession crisis now point to a deeper crisis inside the Kremlin. Russia is spending men, equipment, money, and authority for tiny gains, while the war of attrition that was supposed to break Ukraine is starting to damage Putin’s own system. Measured against Napoleon’s march toward Moscow, Alexander the Great’s campaign pace, or Desert Storm, Russia’s advance now looks less like conquest and more like exhaustion.

Inside the capital, Sergei Kiriyenko, Andrei Belousov, war veterans, Duma lists, and the post-Putin question are colliding inside one political machine. Veterans can strengthen the system when they praise it, but anger, status, and nationalist pressure make them dangerous when they enter politics. Once the Kremlin turns fighters into heroes, silencing them becomes far harder if they stop obeying.

Beyond Ukraine, Moscow’s old imperial leverage is also shrinking. Kazakhstan, Central Asia, oil transit, and Europe show neighbors learning to move around Putin instead of waiting for permission. Each pipeline dispute, battlefield failure, and elite feud points toward one larger crisis: the war meant to restore Russian power is consuming it. Follow how Prigozhin’s legacy, Kremlin rivalry, and fading influence now collide around Vladimir Putin under mounting pressure.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro: Putin’s Broken Promise to Russian Veterans
01:30 – Russia’s Duma Elections: United Russia’s Weak Support Crisis
02:45 – Kremlin Power Struggle: Veteran Seats vs Russian Elites
04:17 – Kiriyenko vs Belousov: Kremlin Battle Over ‘Real Veterans’
04:50 – Kremlin Fear: Armed Veterans vs Putin’s Control
07:20 – Putin’s Declining Ratings: Hidden Weakness Behind Power
08:50 – Russia’s Leverage Strategy: Druzhba Pipeline & Kazakhstan Pressure
11:25 – Final: Putin’s War Elite Plan Turns Into Kremlin Conflict