Kremlin Rhetoric About“Victory” Points To Deep-Seated Problems In Russia, Expert Says

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Czech expert Pavel Havlíček, a research fellow at the Association for International Affairs (AMO) in Prague, made this statement in a comment to Ukrinform.

According to him, there is a clear trend in Russia toward declining support for continuing the war and for the regime itself, which is“significantly exacerbated by the successful, deep strikes by the Ukrainian Defense Forces on Russian territory.”

“When they talk about an 'imminent victory,' it means the opposite. It's becoming increasingly difficult to hide the problems,” the expert said.

In this context, the expert believes, the Kremlin exploited the visit of U.S. Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow for its own propaganda purposes.

“It was important for the Russian side to remain in contact with the Americans. This is an attempt to demonstrate supposed 'goodwill' ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections to the State Duma, as well as to create the illusion for the domestic audience that the 'big players' are negotiating behind the Ukrainians' backs, even though the Kremlin simultaneously fears any internal calls to stop the war,” Havlíček noted.

Read also: Zelensky discusses strengthening air defenses, Ukraine's winter preparations with Norwegian P

As reported by Ukrinform, on September 5, U.S. presidential special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow, where they held talks with Vladimir Putin. On September 6, the U.S. delegation arrived in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Following the visits, U.S. representatives stated that progress had been made and that ideas regarding possible trilateral peace talks had been discussed.

MENAFN09092026000193011044ID1111644332