Four Years On: Putin's Ukraine War Goals Unmet, Domestic Control Solidified

• Four years after invading Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has failed to achieve his initial maximalist goals, including stopping NATO expansion, overthrowing Zelenskyy, or fully occupying Donbas.
• Instead of halting NATO's growth, the invasion led to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, and the EU rearming and becoming Ukraine's primary supporter.
• Analysts like Kseniya Kirillova note Russia has not seized all of Ukraine or Donbas, nor broken Ukrainian resistance, indicating no declared goal has been achieved on the battlefield.
• Putin's only 'victory' is consolidating power within Russia, prolonging his tenure, and eliminating political opposition, as seen with Alexei Navalny's death.
• Despite economic challenges and no clear end in sight, Putin remains committed to his maximalist ideological goals of restoring Soviet influence, with some partial successes like controlling 20% of Ukrainian territory and Belarus becoming a Russian satellite.