A commander operating near the Ukrainian border, in the Kursk region, has openly called on the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine. An unusual statement, all the more striking as it comes from an active officer.
In an interview broadcast on the channels of influential military blogger Maxim Kalashnikov, the military man rejected any strategic artifice to exit the conflict. Asked what he would do to win the war, his response stood out for its brutal simplicity: “I would completely stop the war. Unfortunately, this war won’t end until we’ve completely, stupidly killed each other.”
He continues: “They are like us. They won’t give up, and neither will we. This will continue until we maim or kill each other, and then a third enemy will come and kill both sides.”
This candid testimony, delivered unvarnished, illustrates the growing weariness within the Russian troops, more than three years after the invasion of Ukraine began, launched in February 2022.
According to figures put forward by Kiev, the Russian army has suffered nearly a million human losses since the start of the conflict. A heavy toll that contrasts with the negligible extent of territorial gains recorded in recent months: barely 0.6% of Ukrainian territory is said to have been conquered in 2024. The price of blood for minimal military advances.
On the ground, the war seems to be bogged down in a logic of fixed positions and incessant artillery strikes. The military stalemate is accompanied by a palpable climate of weariness even apparent in some voices within the Russian military apparatus, like this commander.
While the Kremlin has not reacted to this outburst, the Russian authorities rarely tolerate public dissent in military circles, especially in wartime. It remains to be seen whether this isolated statement marks the beginning of freer speech within the army or if it will be quickly stifled.