Ukraine war: is Putin running out of MEN AND MONEY?
6/25/202634 min
Russia’s stock market has plummeted in recent days, hitting a three year low, mounting pressure on Vladimir Putin while Ukraine ramps up its long range drone attacks on critical infrastructure, including oil facilities around Moscow.
Are the costs of the war becoming unbearable for Russia? Is Ukraine finding new ways to fight back? And if Putin believes time is no longer on his side, will he escalate?
On this episode of The Fourcast Indicators, Matt Frei and Mark Urban are joined by Nina Khruscheva, professor of international affairs at The New School in New York.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMark Urban· Host0:00
He has no choice now, uh, because of the budgetary crisis and the shortage of people, but to declare mobilization, to call it a war, uh, to invoke the spirit of Mother Russia.
Nina Khrushcheva· Guest0:10
No autocrat, especially autocrat like Putin, can show weakness because he thinks that the party unite and take him out.
Matt Frei· Host0:18
So if it's a choice between escalation and suing for peace, it's escalation.
Nina Khrushcheva· Guest0:23
He would go until, from my point of view, until the very end. He's the Putin of absolute victory or death.
Matt Frei· Host0:29
In a worst case scenario, we are sliding into something far more serious here. [upbeat music] Hello, and welcome to the Forecast Indicators. I'm Matt Frei.
Mark Urban· Host0:40
And I'm Mark Urban, and this is the podcast where we look at the signals that analysts watch out most closely for that suggest significant change is imminent, and we separate the signal from the noise and the wheat from the chaff.
Matt Frei· Host0:53
Well, today we're looking at the war in Ukraine and the stark decisions facing Vladimir Putin as his three-day special military operation has now lasted longer than the First World War. Are the costs of the war becoming unbearable for Russia? How is Ukraine finding new ways to fight back? And if Putin believes time is no longer on his side, will he escalate? Well, we are delighted now to be joined by Nina Khrushcheva, Professor of International Affairs at the New School in New York. Nina, what is your first indicator?
Nina Khrushcheva· Guest1:22
My first indicator that Putin's under pressure. When Donald Trump became president in 2025, there was kind of societal,