Putin remains uncompromising on Ukraine, but is public discourse on war changing in Russia?

If Vladimir Putin's Russia had an authoritative slogan, what would it be?

"Russia is what it is, and we're not ashamed of showing it," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov erstwhile told maine successful an interview.

But I precocious heard an updated mentation from seasoned popular and people vocalist Nadezhda Babkina.

After receiving an grant from President Putin, Babkina told an assemblage successful the Kremlin: "Russia volition ne'er surrender acknowledgment to our remarkable, multi-ethnic familial code... that holds america each together.

"Anyone who doesn't similar that," she added, "can spell and poison themselves."

In galore ways, the enactment "they tin spell and poison themselves" encapsulates Russia successful 2026 - unapologetic, unrepentant and uncompromising.

Like Vladimir Putin himself.

Since ordering the wide penetration of Ukraine, the Kremlin person has displayed nary regret, nary remorse implicit his determination to onslaught Russia's neighbour - and nary volition of ceasing hostilities.

This week Russia launched different monolithic rocket and drone onslaught crossed Ukraine.

The onslaught came connected the eve of the yearly St Petersburg International Economic Forum, an lawsuit designed to showcase Russia to the world.

High-profile Western investors and politicians person agelong stopped coming. But the organisers accidental that delegations from much than 130 countries and territories volition attend.

For a state seeking overseas investment, much than 4 years of warfare with its neighbour doesn't look the champion advertisement.

But, arsenic we person established, "Russia is what it is". Forum oregon nary forum, the attacks connected Ukraine continue.

President Putin's nationalist presumption connected the warfare is unwavering. He continues to request that Ukraine cede power to Russia of the full Donbas region.

Vladimir Putin has not changed. But 1 happening successful the Kremlin has.

And that is to bash with Donald Trump.

Last twelvemonth Russian officials appeared assured that the US president would assistance present a Ukraine bid woody connected Moscow's terms. In different words, that President Trump would unit Kyiv into accepting Moscow's maximalist demands.

Following past summer's US-Russia acme successful Anchorage, Alaska, for months afterwards elder Russian officials waxed lyrical astir the "spirit of Anchorage" - arsenic if Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had reached a communal knowing connected Ukraine to Moscow's benefit.

But nary bid woody materialised.

"I don't cognize astir the tone of Anchorage," President Putin's overseas argumentation adjutant Yuri Ushakov told Russian authorities TV recently. "I person ne'er utilized that phrase."

It was a motion that the "spirit of Anchorage" has, if not disappeared, past astatine slightest started evaporating.

This whitethorn good beryllium 1 of the factors fuelling Vladimir Putin's evident frustration.

What the Kremlin person had conceived arsenic a short-term "special subject operation" has turned into a bloody warfare of attrition which is present successful its 5th year. Since February 2022, Russia has suffered immense battlefield losses, important harm to its system and technological decline.

What's more, the warfare has moved person to home. Today Ukrainian drones scope heavy wrong Russia. Oil refineries and different vigor infrastructure are regularly targeted. Last month, a large-scale Ukrainian drone onslaught connected the Moscow portion highlighted that aerial defences astir the Russian superior could beryllium penetrated.

Amid fears of an attack, the yearly Victory Day parade connected Red Square connected 9 May was scaled back.

More than 4 years of warfare - and thousands of planetary sanctions - person enactment tremendous strains connected Russia's economy. The fund shortage has been growing, the system stagnating.

And however has the Kremlin responded to these challenges?

Not by scaling backmost the "special subject operation".

Judging by caller large-scale Russian aerial raids connected Ukrainian cities, the effect is escalation.

Not that the Kremlin accepts work for this. It blames Kyiv, claiming that Russia is reacting to a caller Ukrainian onslaught connected a assemblage dormitory successful Starobilsk, Russian-occupied eastbound Ukraine. According to authoritative figures, 21 students determination were killed.

Ukraine's subject has said it deed the office of Russia's elite Rubicon drone subject portion successful Starobilsk. It has not said whether it was the aforesaid gathering arsenic the 1 identified by Russia.

An extremity to the warring looks arsenic distant arsenic ever.

In erstwhile years President Putin has utilized appearances astatine the St Petersburg International Economic Forum to transmit his existent worldview and to repetition his criticisms of the West. In St Petersburg, helium is expected to conscionable main editors of planetary quality agencies and present a keynote address.

Will helium usage this year's forum to awesome a alteration of presumption connected Ukraine? So acold determination is thing to suggest that.

Yet, wrong Russia, determination are signs of a increasing nationalist sermon connected whether it is clip to extremity the war.

I spot grounds of it adjacent successful the country's highly controlled media landscape.

Writing successful the diary Russia In Global Affairs, which has adjacent links to the country's overseas argumentation establishment, governmental idiosyncratic Vasily Kashin precocious concluded: "The extremity of eliminating the anti-Russian authorities successful Ukraine astatine the existent signifier is fundamentally unachievable without the implicit subject concern of the full country, including the occidental part, for a agelong period. For Russia this is technically impossible."

A fewer days later, pro-Kremlin tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets quoted governmental commentator Alexander Nosovich: "The adept assemblage is divided betwixt those successful favour of continuing the peculiar subject cognition until the goals are achieved, and those who judge it's clip to extremity it, since the worst-case script is not adjacent defeat, it's an endless peculiar operation."

In the aforesaid paper, lawyer Dmitry Krasnov argued that, passim Russian history, "it was mislaid wars and humiliating truces that regularly led to caller breakthroughs, reforms and amazingly to caller victories... large geopolitical losses were sometimes much utile than superb victories".

In a state whose nationalist thought has been shaped astir the conception of Russia arsenic a federation of victors and victories, it was astonishing to spot specified an nonfiction successful print.

Was it hinting that Russia should extremity its warfare connected Ukraine without achieving its goals?

A fewer days later, I tried to work the nonfiction again online.

"Error 404. Page not found" flashed connected to my screen. Access denied.

There whitethorn beryllium a discourse. But it intelligibly has limits.