“Sanctions are becoming more and more painful.” Russian elites are unhappy that the war against Ukraine did not end in 2024 — mass media

Meduza writes about this on Thursday, January 9, with reference to its sources in the presidential administration (AP), as well as an interlocutor in the government, two deputies of the State Duma, a senator and high-ranking officials from Russian regions.

According to a government source, the main feeling is disappointment, as the war and hostilities were expected to end. Also, the interlocutor of the journalists complained about feeling tired and “that every day you sink deeper and deeper.”

“They were also waiting for some lifting of sanctions in exchange for peace. Now they are acting more and more painfully,” the newspaper quoted its source from the government as saying.

According to the interlocutors of the journalists, the “point of tension” at the end of 2024 was the situation in the Russian economy. Big business does not hide its dissatisfaction with the high key rate set by the Central Bank — it was raised to 21% in October.

According to the interlocutors of the publication, “hopes for a quick peace” and the easing of sanctions in 2024 disappeared after the Defense Forces of Ukraine began an operation in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. At the same time, they agree that the war could continue even now, regardless of the offensive of Ukrainian forces in Kurshchyna.

One of the sources close to the presidential administration noted that Vladimir Putin “likes to fight,” and added that some are Russian “patriots”, mostly high-ranking security forces, demand a full transition to military lines and mobilization.

Russian officials also had some hopes for the end of the war against Ukraine after the victory of Donald Trump in the US elections, but the level of these expectations “not the same one anymore.”

Interlocutors of journalists from the political bloc of the president’s administration also indicate that the possible end of the war in the current 2025 may be “potential crisis” for officials. He said, now that the war is going on, “it’s clear what everything revolves around”, and after it ends, people will have to say why it’s hard now and when it will get easier, and there are no answers to these questions in AP.

Prospects of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine — what is known

On November 20, 2024, the Reuters agency wrote that Putin is ready to discuss a cease-fire agreement with Donald Trump in Ukraine, but rejects any significant territorial concessions and insists that Kyiv abandon its ambitions to join NATO.

The Russian dictator also claimed that the aggressor country is supposedly always ready for “negotiations” and “compromises” with regard to Ukraine. Before that, he made it clear that he would not agree to freezing the war.

On December 20, The Washington Post wrote that Trump will meet Putin in 2025. However, analysts believe that there is little hope for a peace agreement given Putin’s maximalist position and Trump’s fear of looking weak if he makes concessions to the Russian Federation.

On January 8, the representative of the US President-elect Donald Trump, Keith Kellogg, stated that he aims to find a solution to the end of the war in Ukraine within 100 days after the inauguration on January 20.

“People need to understand that he is [Дональд Трамп] is not trying to give something to Putin or the Russians, he is actually trying to save the sovereignty of Ukraine,” Trump’s representative said.