Russian milbloggers slam command over failed offensive — ISW

Analysts highlighted a publication by a prominent Russian milblogger who openly criticized the occupiers' inability to achieve battlefield victories and called for major reforms in the Russian Armed Forces' force generation and defense industry. He wrote that the aggressor country's troops face numerous battlefield problems, employing small-group infiltration tactics and confronting the dominance of Ukrainian UAVs.

The milblogger stated that it will take Russian troops about 100 years to capture the rest of Ukraine. This aligns with the ISW's assessment that it would take Russian troops 83 years to fully occupy Ukraine if they continue their offensive at the current pace.

The Russian blogger urged the defense industry to respond more promptly to technological changes and criticized the lack of adequate protection for Russian armored vehicles against FPV drones.

The ISW assessed that the Russian defense industry could halt factory operations to retool for producing modified equipment and weaponry. The Russian military command could also withdraw active forces from the front lines for additional training, but introducing a longer training period may delay recruits’ deployment to the front.

Analysts believe that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's demand for a constant and exhausting offensive by the Russian Armed Forces is incompatible with potential reforms that could lead to the aggressor country's victory in Ukraine.

The ISW also assessed that successful Ukrainian counterattacks in Ukraine's northeast and south are partly responsible for spreading discontent in Russia. In particular, the milblogger openly criticized the Russian military command's repeated lies regarding the capture of Kupyansk in Kharkiv Oblast.

The discontent is also linked to the fact that Russian troops failed to properly prepare for the spring-summer 2026 offensive, which, according to the ISW's March 19 assessment, has already begun. Specifically, the occupation army did not have time to organize an assault on Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, without capturing which Russia will not be able to achieve tactical success during its spring offensive on the fortress cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.