Jul 07, 2026 11:50 am IST

Opinion | Vladimir Putin Hasn't Looked This Desperate In Over 25 Years

As the Russian position weakens, there is possibility of a coup against Putin, for whom just too many things have gone wrong in the last four years.

Naresh Kaushik Naresh Kaushik Columnist

Naresh Kaushik Columnist

As NATO leaders meet in Turkey for their annual summit, the Russia-Ukraine war is a top issue on the agenda. On the eve of the summit, Moscow bombed Kyiv, killing at least 24 people and causing heavy damage to the city's infrastructure. Monday's bombardment was the second deadly attack on the Ukrainian capital in four days, exposing the country's helplessness against powerful Russian ballistic missiles. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is expected to plead at the summit for more air-defence batteries from the US and other NATO members.

Ukraine, however, is not doing too badly at the moment in the war. In fact, it has managed to push the war deep into Russia, with escalating attacks on energy infrastructure that have created nationwide fuel shortages and miles-long queues at petrol stations. Only two of Russia's 83 regions have avoided such shortages. Last week, Russia began importing petrol from India to try to mitigate the deepening crisis. Although the Kremlin didn't comment on imports from India, it did confirm that Moscow was in talks with other countries to purchase petrol. The fact that Russia, the world's second-largest exporter of crude oil and third-largest exporter of refined petroleum products, has been forced to import petrol suggests the tide may be turning in favour of Ukraine in the conflict, now in its fifth year.

The Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, has not looked so vulnerable since he came to power more than 25 years ago. The Ukraine war has shattered the myth of Russia's strength and invincibility as well as Putin's image as a strong leader. The conflict he called a “special operation” in the hope of quickly occupying Ukraine has already lasted longer than the First World War and the Soviet Union's fight against Nazi Germany in the Second World War. In WW2, Russia pushed back Hitler's forces by up to 1,800 kilometres west, from the outskirts of Moscow to Berlin, but in Ukraine its gains are limited to tens of kilometres from the Russian border in the east and south. Russia has been unable to capture the Donbas region, which it has claimed since 2014.

How Ukraine Has Hit Where It Hurts Most

Ukraine's attacks on Russia's oil refineries and other energy infrastructure are just one part of its strategy to bring the war to Russia and force its closure. Following its audacious........

© NDTV