This winter, Putin will feed even more of Russia’s youth into the meat grinder

Russian President Vladimir Putin is a cornered man. Ukraine, especially through its deep-strike drones and ballistic missiles, is bringing Putin’s special military operation home to the city confines of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. 

As of this writing, 15 distribution hubs of Wildberries — Russia’s equivalent of Amazon, which is frequently used to supply troops with equipment the Russian state fails to supply — have been hit or destroyed by Ukraine. Likewise, most of Putin’s largest oil refineries, including one as far away as Siberia, have been struck.

Billowy black smoke from burning Wildberries and uncertainty at the gas pump are putting domestic pressure on the Kremlin in ways never felt since the war began in February 2022.

Putin must either go big or go home. Going home probably means the end of his regime, so going big in Ukraine is really his only option. All signs indicate that he intends to do so this winter, whatever the cost. 

Putin is not going to use nuclear weapons, although he can be counted on to threaten and bluff with them. No — going big for him means doubling, if not tripling down on his meat grinder approach to the war in Ukraine. Mass infantry attacks are his military strategy. If a Russian operation fails on the frontlines, his typical response is simply to try it again with larger numbers. This is why, in the first half of 2026, Russia has suffered roughly eight casualties the for every one it has inflicted on........

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