>>214167985
Politically.
If we measure Russia’s position in purely material losses yes shit looks grim they are spending astronomical sums, losing tens of thousands of men, and taking on the burden of administering territories that are devastated.
Yet when the conflict is viewed through political lens Russia is in fact reaping a number of significant benefits the war has revived their great power narrative which entails beating a nation that was supported by all of NATO with this narrative Moscow ensures that it remains a global actor that cannot be ignored the image it projects both domestically and internationally is that Russia still belongs in the ranks of the world’s decisive powers.
the war has allowed the Kremlin to consolidate domestic control. Under the banner of wartime necessity dissent is suppressed opposition is neutralized and the population is rallied around a sense of national survival also this conflict steadily erodes European unity. Every debate inside the EU over sanctions, energy policy, or the financing of Ukraine exposes fissures which they can exploit.
They have also leveraged the war to present itself as a leader of the so-called Global South and through food and energy diplomacy and by invoking anti colonial rhetoric Russia has gained sympathy or at least neutrality from countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America which also undermines Western efforts to isolate them and reinforces its status as a pole of resistance to Western hegemony.
from a purely political standpoint, human losses are less relevant to Russia than territorial and demographic gains, expansion and reintegration and in that context casualties are treated as a cost the state is willing to absorb. Despite the military losses, Russia is able to occupy and claim large swaths of land in eastern and southern Ukraine and maybe even much more depending on how things end.
each annexed region represents a win.