Published On 7/8/2026
Russian newspapers discussed the issue of war with Ukraine and its internal repercussions, and assessments varied between criticism of internal policies and a focus on the country being exposed to a war led from abroad, and using various tools.
Childish diplomacy
Writer Alexei Belov discussed on the “Anti-Fascist” website what he described as a dramatic shift in Washington’s rhetoric regarding the Ukrainian conflict, to the point that US Vice President J.D. Vance, who is considered one of Zelensky’s harshest critics, was forced to acknowledge Kiev’s success in causing serious damage to the Russian fuel infrastructure, and even hinted that Russia currently lacks the ability to resolve the conflict militarily.
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The writer believed that the criticism directed at the Russian Foreign Ministry against this background was based on the fact that “our very close relations” with the Americans did not enable us to obtain any tangible influence from Washington on the situation in Ukraine for an entire year, nor to achieve any benefit for Russia.
If the results of a year and a half of communication with US President Donald Trump, whether directly or through his representatives, are looked at in the abstract, this previous assessment will be generally correct, according to the writer.
In the context of identifying those responsible for this failure, the writer believes that the attempt to establish a coherent dialogue with a country like the United States goes far beyond the usual diplomatic maneuvers between the rest of the countries, and expresses his regret that the Russian side has fallen victim to their “sweet words” – the Americans – like naive children, as he described it.
The writer gave an example of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s comment on the recent phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump, when he stressed the importance of maintaining communication with the Americans, and expressed his hope that “their efforts to put the entire situation on a peaceful path will ultimately be crowned with success.”
Here, the writer points out that Peskov did not disclose the nature of these “alleged American peace efforts,” perhaps because these efforts are not in Russia’s interest, referring to Trump’s own comment on the current situation in the war and his impressions of his recent contacts with the Kremlin, when he said that “Putin really feels the pressure and wants to end the war.”
Trump’s words – as the author explains – mean that it is Moscow, not Kiev, that feels the pressure and is willing to make concessions under pressure. Therefore, if that is the case, what is the point of trying to resolve the issue through the American House?
Moscow did its best to avoid the question of the difference between a special military operation and a war, and military strategists offered different explanations, but the reality of the situation was clear.
The writer concluded that the worst thing about backward diplomacy – as he describes it – is the Russian leadership’s complete ignorance of the importance of the concept of “the good word and power” in the Anglo-Saxon mentality, because no one will listen to the good word if power is not available, pointing out that Moscow’s failure does not lie in a lack of negotiating skills, but rather in an inability to persuade.
“We’ve been lying for four years”
In this context, the newspaper “Tsargrad” published an interview with retired Colonel Viktor Baranets, which dealt with the situation on the front and the change in the Russian view of the special military operation, against the backdrop of Peskov’s statement that the special military operation had actually become a “real war” due to the participation of Western countries in the conflict.
Baranets expressed his doubts that this change in naming would have a significant impact on the course of military operations, stressing that they would continue in the same way, although they could expand in scope and deepen in the future.
According to the Russian colonel, over the past four and a half years, Russia has been “deceptive” and used different formulas to avoid the term “war,” explaining that Moscow did its best to avoid the question about the difference between a special military operation and a war, and military strategists provided different explanations, but the reality of the situation was clear.
War is coming
Baranets stressed that it was indeed a war, and “starting tomorrow it is possible to talk with confidence about a comprehensive Russian-Ukrainian war,” noting that the level of technology on both sides, especially in the field of drones, is close, although any further developments in the situation may affect the quantity and quality of weapons used.
Baranets also stressed the necessity of adapting ancient military doctrines to modern combat conditions, stressing that the use of drones has become an integral part of tactics, and that Russia, as a result of rapid technological progress, was forced to purchase drones from Iran to support its operations.
When asked about the possibility of expanding mobilization, Baranetz did not rule out this possibility, stressing that “the situation may require direct orders to shift Russian industry to a state of war alert.”
Regarding the activity of Western countries, the retired colonel stressed that “Europe is preparing to confront Russia,” and that the upcoming events may lead to large-scale operations, which may be difficult and long-term.
Baranets also touched on problems in the Russian army related to underestimating the development of modern technologies and insufficient training, noting that Russia, at the beginning of the war, did not possess the necessary combat tools to confront the new situation, calling for a reconsideration of the military doctrine, taking modern threats and technologies into account.
Are Russian banks on the verge of collapse?
Under this title, the Politika website published an article about what it described as the phenomenon of fueling panic in Russia regarding the conditions of banks, and saw that foreign media are not the only ones working to spread terror in the hearts of Russian citizens by freezing deposits.
In this context, the site focused on what was published by the “Colonel Chernov” platform, an anonymous Russian channel on the Telegram application, which publishes internal news, military and political analyzes and data about decisions that it says are secret.
Politika quotes the platform as saying that it learned from private sources that the government received a secret memorandum about “an explosive situation in the banking system,” and that the Central Bank – according to the platform – warned the Council of Ministers that the banks were on the verge of collapse.
Banking bubbles
Moreover, the platform promotes that four years of war have burdened the state with loans to defense companies that have become unable to repay their debts, in addition to preferential mortgage loans, subsidized programs, and a deteriorating economic situation that undermines public confidence in banks, the ruble and deposits.
All of this is in addition to the cases of personal bankruptcy, which exceeded 500,000 cases in one year, which is a worrying indicator. Millions of Russians also suffer from the accumulation of multiple loans, and the number of people who have at least three loans at the same time is about 13 million people.
Politika says that the platform claims that banks are currently showing flexibility thanks to preferential programs and government support, but behind this flexibility are accumulating debts that may never be repaid.
As the platform claims, the number of unprofitable banks in the country has increased by about 1.8 times since the beginning of 2026, and the number of unprofitable banks has reached 79 banks, or 22%, and this is the worst number since 2022.
But Politika confirms that this does not mean that “banks are on the verge of collapse,” as the platform claims, although some financial institutions are facing problems, but the performance of the largest institutions is good, and their profits are increasing, but Russia simply does not need this large number of banks, and for this reason some of them are facing difficulties.
Politika wondered why the “Colonel Chernov” platform is causing this panic? To respond that the platform belongs to the fugitive anti-Russian oligarch, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is classified as a foreign agent, terrorist and extremist in Russia, and has an integrated network designed exclusively to destabilize Russia, so such propaganda will continue to spread.
