Russia's war against Ukraine has eroded President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, hollowed out the Russian military, and stoked an "undercurrent of disaffection" within the country, according to the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, has approved the third and final reading of a bill allowing for the confiscation of property and assets of individuals convicted on charges related to laws Russia adopted after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
At least 50 people died in Russian pretrial detention centers, special detention centers, courts, police stations, and police cars last year, according to Next, a group that analyzed reports from government departments and the media.
Interview: Russia Bets It Can Outlast The Attention Span Of The West To Defeat Ukraine globalsecurity.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from globalsecurity.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to waste lots of lives and money to defeat Ukraine, argues Professor Peter Roberts, a senior associate fellow at the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute.