At a recent press conference, Vladimir Putin spoke again about the imminent end of the conflict and the daily successes of the Russian army. However, behind the rhetoric of a 'triumphant march' lies a grim reality that Andriy Kovalenko, Head of the Center for Strategic Communications under the National Security and Defense Council, was not afraid to voice.
Mathematics of Death Instead of Victory Reports
Kovalenko did not resort to diplomacy, calling the Russian leader's words a direct reflection of madness. In his opinion, what the Kremlin calls an 'offensive' is in reality turning into a conveyor belt of death. The price of every step forward is tens of thousands of dead per month, which significantly exceeds Russia's mobilization resources.
'They advance and turn into corpses,' summarized the Ukrainian official, emphasizing that the dictator believes only in the fictitious reports of Valery Gerasimov, ignoring the real situation on the front lines.
Economy Versus Propaganda
The gap between rhetoric and reality is evident not only in military reports but also in the economy. Statistics for 2026 show an alarming picture: the rate of territory capture by the RF has fallen by more than half—from 285 sq. km a year ago to 104 sq. km. At the same time, the command continues to report 'successes' to Moscow, hiding the true ratio of losses, which stands at 3.5 to 1 in favor of Ukraine.
The financial sector is also not yielding to optimism. Despite official forecasts of growth, the Russian economy shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026. The period of January-February was particularly dramatic, when GDP plummeted by 1.8%. This failure forced Putin to convene an emergency meeting with economists, trying to find a way out of the resulting crisis.