Vladimir Putin told United Russia's party congress to do "everything possible to achieve victory," then dismissed Ukrainian and European peace proposals as "exotic" and unacceptable in a same-day interview. [1] The domestic reception required no organizing: Yabloko, the last nominally anti-war party, will not appear on September's State Duma ballot. [1]

The speech did its accounting in public. Putin framed the strike campaign as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks — an inversion ISW rejects, noting Russian strikes have run continuously since 2022 — and admitted air-defense failures, a rare concession after weeks of drone wreckage falling on Russian cities. [1] He set the congress as the launchpad for claiming a pro-war mandate at the ballot box next month. [1]

Meanwhile his own claim of advancing everywhere collides with the map. ISW's August tally has Russian forces losing ground net — roughly 27 square kilometers lost against gains a third that size — while advance rates decline from January's pace and casualties mount by the tens of thousands since July. [1]

United Russia enters September's election cycle with its critics cleared from the ballot rather than persuaded, and the congress speech read as ratification, not persuasion. [1] A war party does not need to win an argument when its opponents cannot stand for the vote. The declaration is less mobilization than paperwork — claiming a mandate already arranged, with the only opposition left outside the hall.

-- KATYA VOLKOV, Moscow