Zelensky needs to tap into every resource of resilience, assuming that they will be replenished by the new hope rising from the reconfirmed support from the West. Putin has a monster propaganda machine at his disposal, but he needs to deploy it simultaneously for drumming the jingoist marches and for playing the “life-goes-as-normal” tune. Public indifference works fine for him so far, but the Kremlin has no way of knowing for how long it may last and what might suddenly turn it into resentment and anger. The clash of two irreconcilable strategies is certain to produce surprising turns in the seemingly steady course of the long war, but resilience grants Ukraine a better position to withstand the bad surprises and to utilize the good ones.
Baev, Pavel K. (2024) Ukraine's resilience and Russia's indifference shape their strategies for 2024, ISPI Commentary (1–2). 12 January.
