{"id":59671,"date":"2026-05-30T03:56:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T07:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/vladimir-putins-long-standing-narrative-is-completely-unravelling\/30\/05\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T03:56:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T07:56:00","slug":"vladimir-putins-long-standing-narrative-is-completely-unravelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/vladimir-putins-long-standing-narrative-is-completely-unravelling\/30\/05\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Vladimir Putin\u2019s long-standing narrative is \u2018completely unravelling\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><i>When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.<\/i><\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Vladimir Putin remains determined to \u2018press on\u2019. | Credit: Contributor \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cSuddenly, say those who live there, the mood in Moscow feels very different,\u201d said Adrian Blomfield in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/world-news\/2026\/05\/22\/putin-moment-of-truth-end-the-war-or-embrace-stalinism\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:The Telegraph;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;The Telegraph&quot;}\" class=\"link \">The Telegraph<\/a>. Ever since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theweek.com\/news\/world-news\/europe\/961821\/who-is-winning-the-war-in-ukraine\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Ukraine\u2019s counteroffensive;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Ukraine\u2019s counteroffensive&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Ukraine\u2019s counteroffensive<\/a> stalled in 2023, Russia\u2019s capital had \u201cexuded confidence. Its residents could either bathe in the patriotic glory of war or ignore it altogether\u201d. But lately, \u201cbombast\u201d has given way to fear, and to a longing for the conflict to end; and this feeling became more acute this month, when Moscow and its wider region came under fire from a barrage of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theweek.com\/politics\/death-drones-upend-rules-war-ukraine\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Ukrainian drones;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Ukrainian drones&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Ukrainian drones<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It was \u201cone of the most sustained aerial attacks of the conflict\u201d so far. Three people were killed; all four of Moscow\u2019s airports had to close; an oil refinery and residential buildings were hit. \u201cMuscovites listening to drones buzz overhead and air defences firing into the night\u201d were given a \u201cglimpse of life in Kyiv \u2013 and they did not like it\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">\u2018Completely unravelling\u2019<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Events have not been in the Kremlin\u2019s favour lately, said the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/7cc7357b-446d-4cbe-9438-f505dd457c3d?syn-25a6b1a6=1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Financial Times;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Financial Times&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Financial Times<\/a>. Ukraine has upped its use of long-range drones to target energy and military facilities deep in Russia. On the front line, Russia is \u201cscratching out meagre territorial gains at a devastating human cost\u201d: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently asserted that it is \u201closing 15,000-20,000 soldiers a month. Not injured. Dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theweek.com\/business\/economy\/will-latest-russian-sanctions-finally-break-putins-resolve\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Russian economy,;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Russian economy,&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Russian economy,<\/a> meanwhile, is ailing: some analysts reckon that inflation is running well above the official 5.6%; and interest rates are at a punishing 14.5%. Vladimir Putin has tried to bury bad news by tightening state control over the internet, said Phillips Payson O\u2019Brien in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/2026\/05\/putin-lost-control-russia\/687269\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:The Atlantic;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;The Atlantic&quot;}\" class=\"link \">The Atlantic<\/a>. Even so, videos have increasingly been circulating in which Russians express \u201cshock at their capital\u2019s vulnerability\u201d. His long-standing narrative, that the conflict in Ukraine is a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d that needn\u2019t trouble Russia\u2019s elites or middle classes, is \u201ccompletely unravelling\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">\u2018Most challenging period\u2019<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Putin\u2019s calculus on the war in Ukraine has not changed, said Pjotr Sauer and Shaun Walker in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ng-interactive\/2026\/may\/24\/there-is-profound-disappointment-in-him-mood-in-russia-turns-against-putin\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:The Guardian;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;The Guardian&quot;}\" class=\"link \">The Guardian<\/a>. He remains determined to \u201cpress on\u201d in the (surely misguided) belief that Moscow can capture the whole of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theweek.com\/world-news\/ukraine-russia-war-donbas-donetsk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Ukraine\u2019s eastern Donbas region;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Ukraine\u2019s eastern Donbas region&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Ukraine\u2019s eastern Donbas region<\/a> by the end of the year. Such \u201cbravado\u201d, however, is doing little to ease the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theweek.com\/world-news\/putin-grip-russia-ukraine-war-coup-shoigu\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:disquiet inside Russia;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;disquiet inside Russia&quot;}\" class=\"link \">disquiet inside Russia<\/a>; and speculation is growing that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theweek.com\/feature\/briefing\/1024619\/putins-potential-successors\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Putin\u2019s regime could be toppled from within;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Putin\u2019s regime could be toppled from within&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Putin\u2019s regime could be toppled from within<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There have been reports that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theweek.com\/world-news\/the-rise-of-the-spymaster-a-tectonic-shift-in-ukraines-politics\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Sergei Shoigu;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Sergei Shoigu&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Sergei Shoigu<\/a>, the former defence minister, could emerge as a threat to his former boss\u2019s grip on power. The likelihood of an imminent Kremlin coup may be remote; but there\u2019s no doubt that, at 73, Putin is entering \u201cthe most challenging period of his long rule\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/world\/articles\/vladimir-putin-long-standing-narrative-050000796.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Vladimir Putin remains determined to<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/vladimir-putins-long-standing-narrative-is-completely-unravelling\/30\/05\/2026\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/oB3TtBzDC2sjuvPlNtiojg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD02NzU7Y2Y9d2VicA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/the_week_574\/2ccd8d5ba073f8b4b411318febe96a49","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59671"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}