A Russian opposition politician and distinguished critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin says the war in Ukraine is \u201cbackfiring\u201d on the regime at home, with signs of falling domestic support because the Kremlin\u2019s army stalls on the battlefield.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Global News on Friday, Vladimir Kara-Murza \u2014 who has survived multiple alleged poisoning attempts and was free of a 25-year Russian prison sentence for protesting the war in a 2024 prisoner exchange \u2014 said mounting military and economic failures have stripped away Putin\u2019s strongman image and exposed him as \u201cincreasingly weak.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe it’s becoming increasingly clear to everyone that this war has really backfired on the Putin regime,\u201d he said in Ottawa, a day after testifying in Parliament in favour of laws that may toughen Canada\u2019s foreign sanctions regime.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know from our own history in Russia that these failed wars of aggression all the time find yourself backfiring against the regimes that began these wars, and ultimately result in very serious political changes contained in the country. And I believe it\u2019s becoming increasingly clear in the previous couple of weeks this is precisely what\u2019s happening in Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In a Washington Post opinion article this week<\/a>, Kara-Murza cited a recent poll by the independent Levada Center<\/a> that found 62 per cent of Russians favour peace talks with Ukraine, while only 27 per cent support continuing the war, now in its fifth 12 months.<\/p>\n While Kara-Murza noted accurate polling is difficult to acquire in Russia because of the \u201cfear factor\u201d perpetuated by the Kremlin, he suggested the actual variety of those supporting peace talks is probably going far higher.<\/p>\n There have been growing reports of economic hardship in Russia<\/a> as its wartime economy stagnates, despite increased oil revenues amid the war within the Middle East. Inflation is high and the Kremlin has raised taxes to maintain its budget deficit under control.<\/p>\n Web shutdowns in Moscow and other cities have furthered discontent after some social media influencers previously loyal to the Kremlin began openly criticizing government policies.<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, increasing Ukrainian drone attacks have put Russian troops on the back foot while striking deeper into the country, targeting energy facilities and military outposts.<\/p>\n The fear of a Ukrainian attack in Moscow itself forced Putin to scale down the annual May 9 Victory Day parade, normally an enormous show of military strength and regime support.<\/p>\n Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Putin has sought to show the tide by sharply increasing attacks on Ukraine, including an enormous overnight barrage Friday that saw a Russian drone veer off beam and strike an apartment constructing in Romania \u2014 a NATO ally<\/a> \u2014 near the Ukrainian border, injuring two people.<\/a><\/p>\n Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Get](\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\")
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