{"id":1053,"date":"2026-04-26T08:20:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T12:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/?p=1053"},"modified":"2026-04-26T08:20:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T12:20:04","slug":"russian-public-opinion-turns-decisively-against-the-kremlin-as-economic-collapse-and-battlefield-failures-mount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/video\/russian-public-opinion-turns-decisively-against-the-kremlin-as-economic-collapse-and-battlefield-failures-mount\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian Public Opinion Turns Decisively Against the Kremlin as Economic Collapse and Battlefield Failures Mount"},"content":{"rendered":"

(MOSCOW, RUSSIA) \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Public opinion inside Russia has collapsed dramatically in 2026, with ordinary Russians increasingly fearful of the future and the Russian dictator increasingly absent from public view, according to a detailed analysis by Ukrainian commentator and journalist Anna Danylchuk.<\/p>\n

In a video report released on 25 April 2026, Danylchuk of the “Anna from Ukraine” channel documented what she described as a fundamental shift inside the Russian Federation, tracing the deterioration from the initial arrogance of 2022 through to the widespread panic now gripping the population.<\/p>\n

“In 2022, at the very start of the special military operation, all the Russians were super optimistic, chauvinistic, arrogant, and already planned how they would divide my country and our resources,” Danylchuk stated. “In 2024, they were already seriously humiliated by the visit of the Ukrainian armed forces to Kursk and more and more strikes deep inside the Russian territory.”<\/p>\n

She noted that by 2026, Russians had finally accepted a reality they had long refused to acknowledge. “They disagree to believe that war is now on the Russian territory too and they can feel it in their pockets, in their telephones without internet.”<\/p>\n

The Russian dictator, she observed, has resorted to avoiding difficult questions and even meetings with carefully managed Kremlin journalists. “His inability to react, his explanations that they have these huge economic problems and trillions lacking in the federal budget because of bad weather or additional holidays in April or March is definitely not what people expected to hear.”<\/p>\n

Danylchuk identified two pivotal locations that appear to have triggered the dramatic shift in public sentiment.<\/p>\n

The Kupiansk Deception<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first is Kupiansk, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy filmed a short video addressing and mocking the false Russian claims of control over the city. “For a couple of months, all of the Russian media machine, all of Russian journalists, military vloggers and even the head of the army, Gerasimov, Putin himself reported about the control over Kupiansk,” Danylchuk said.<\/p>\n

She pointed out the inherent inconsistency in these claims. “They were talking about the capture of Kupiansk, final capture of Kupiansk for three, four months and that is already suspicious because if you are talking about something finalised, you stop talking about that for three months.”<\/p>\n

Russian military experts have since questioned the strategic logic of seizing small, devastated portions of Ukrainian territory that yield no tangible benefit. Danylchuk described a systemic culture of false reporting. “It’s typical for the Russian soldiers to report the capture of a particular Ukrainian village of what they call in advance, meaning they do not control it. It may be under full control of the Ukrainian armed forces but they report about it to the Kremlin.”<\/p>\n

Some officers have received medals for fictitious victories, she added. “Some even receive medals, as the general who lied he took Kupiansk; actually I haven’t seen him since then, but it’s a typical practice.”<\/p>\n

The consequence of this institutionalised falsehood is staggering human cost. “When these generals fear similar fate and exposure, they send thousands for just one square kilometre of the Ukrainian territory and that’s why Russian losses keep growing in 2026 and now they correspond to the KPIs of our minister of defence, approximately 50,000 per month.”<\/p>\n

The Tuapse Inferno<\/strong><\/p>\n

The second trigger Danylchuk identified was the attack on the oil export terminal at Tuapse, in Krasnodar Krai, southern Russia, one of the country’s largest such facilities.<\/p>\n

“There are tons of their oil refineries burning. We neutralised also Novoshakhtinsk and I’m sure visits will continue after they restore their facilities, but I think this Tuapse was super vivid,” she said. “There were a lot of explosions, a lot of videos. Then it started to rain with oil.”<\/p>\n

Danylchuk observed that the resort city had been transformed by Russia’s own aggression. “This was once a nice place, a resort, and Russians turned it into a war zone when they chose to attack Ukraine.”<\/p>\n

Footage of the burning terminal circulated widely across Russian social media. Danylchuk noted a defining silence from the authorities. “There was no reaction from the military. There was no reaction from the Kremlin, when all of Russia was observing what is happening there and it’s still burning.”<\/p>\n

The attack conveyed a message that no location in Russia is safe. “They also understand that any of locations is not safe in Russia unless it is Putin’s bunkers. This is what makes people angry too, especially as they witness more and more explosions. They understand that Ukraine is getting stronger.”<\/p>\n

The Broadening Reach of Ukrainian Drones<\/strong><\/p>\n

Danylchuk traced the evolution of Ukraine’s deep strike capability. “Visits of the Ukrainian drones deeper and deeper inside the Russian Federation is the new norm,” she said. “I remember how back in 2023 it was just some tries. Then in 2024 it became a new normal for the bordering with Ukraine regions. In 2025, the spider web operation totally destroyed the image of Russia as an invincible nation and a well protected nation, and 2026 we are flying even to the Urals.”<\/p>\n

She concluded, “We may say that now Ukrainian drones control not only the European part of the Russian Federation but soon the Asian too.”<\/p>\n

Internet Shutdowns and Eroding Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Kremlin’s response to growing domestic unrest has included unprecedented internet restrictions. Danylchuk argued these measures have proven counterproductive.<\/p>\n

“The Kremlin literally ruined the last trust they had because by shutting down internet they showed they want this complete censorship once again,” she said. “Previously, even in Soviet times, they could ban a specific newspaper, a specific TV station, and now they are switching off the instruments of communication in general, believing it’s that possible.”<\/p>\n

But the strategy has failed in practice. “In the 21st century, it’s impossible to switch off internet completely because people use VPNs. A lot of Russians keep sharing videos, filming videos, and it’s impossible to prevent them from doing it.”<\/p>\n

Danylchuk noted the unintended consequence of the crackdown. “People buy VPNs and they use them and they get angrier that they need to buy these VPNs to know the truth and the truth is frightening. Now there are grandmas in Russia who know how to use VPN because that’s the only way to access information and communication.”<\/p>\n

Influencers Turn Against the Kremlin<\/strong><\/p>\n

The discontent has now spread beyond political and military circles into the apolitical mainstream. Danylchuk referenced the viral video of Victoria Bonia, a Russian reality show star comparable to Kim Kardashian.<\/p>\n

“She did not criticise Putin openly, but she enumerated problems that people face and no answers. And that this absence of dialogue, absence of any explanations or at least fake promises that everything’s going to be fine, ruins the trust inside of Russia and she received millions of likes, not just views,” Danylchuk said.<\/p>\n

The video prompted reactions from the Russian dictator’s spokesperson, Peskov, and state propagandist Solovyov.<\/p>\n

She also recalled earlier dissenters. “We discussed Girkin, who was actually the author of the annexation of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk regions and now is in prison for criticising Putin’s regime. We were talking about Ilya Mishin, who was the greatest Putin supporter, one of his lawyers attacking Navalny, helping imprison this Russian oppositioner, and later he began talking against Putin and got into a mental hospital.”<\/p>\n

Fear of Returning Veterans<\/strong><\/p>\n

A growing source of domestic anxiety concerns the tens of thousands of soldiers returning from the front. “A lot of Russians fear veterans who return from war who are deeply traumatised because Russian commanders do not treat their soldiers as humans, because they stopped receiving the money promised by Moscow,” Danylchuk explained.<\/p>\n

She pointed to the fiscal reality behind these broken promises. “You all know why the federal budget is empty: Tuapse.”<\/p>\n

The returning soldiers are not honoured but shunned. “They become very aggressive. They have access to weapons and now a lot of criminal cases are rising inside Russia and instead of respecting these veterans, they are avoiding them, they are hiding from them. Definitely a very different result than those who conscripted expected.”<\/p>\n

She added a sobering moral assessment. “These are real war criminals and every more or less adequate person understands that it cannot be a good person who chooses to invade another country, kill people, rape people just to earn some money and to hide it under the disguise of a special military operation.”<\/p>\n

A Dictator in Hiding<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Russian dictator’s pattern of disappearance has become a defining feature of the crisis. “It’s not the first time that Putin disappears from the screens, from various meetings in the Kremlin,” Danylchuk said. “I have come to understand it’s his typical behaviour. As a covert, as a bully, he hides from difficult questions even though there are no difficult questions for the Russian president in Russia right now, with this level of censorship.”<\/p>\n

When the dictator does appear, the explanations strain credulity. Danylchuk cited the head of the central bank, Nabiullina, and her attribution of economic woes to “bad weather in winter and additional holidays during Easter and Christmas.” The federal budget shortfall had reached five trillion roubles, exceeding annual projections “because of days of bad weather and additional holidays.”<\/p>\n

Simultaneously, Foreign Minister Lavrov and General Gerasimov speak of “developing the grey zone, this buffering zone, to secure Russia,” without acknowledging that this buffer is being carved out of formerly safe Russian territory.<\/p>\n

Danylchuk summarised the Russian citizen’s predicament. “Just imagine, you hear these explosions, you see rising prices, you close your business because of taxes, you cannot withdraw the money you need, you have to find ways to get to internet when people everywhere in the world have it, and you have this pathetic Kremlin goblin for 26 years and he doesn’t even speak with you. He hides from you, and if once again cornered, he says it’s because of bad weather.”<\/p>\n

The Irreversible Collapse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Danylchuk concluded that the trajectory of Russia’s disintegration is now set. “As long as they do not talk about this, as long as they do not end this war, the collapse will continue. And personally, I believe it is irreversible because I cannot imagine this war stops during Putin’s regime.”<\/p>\n

She noted the irony of the current Russian mood. “If we listen to Russians in 2026, sometimes I have this feeling these are Ukrainian propaganda, not Russian, because they are so frightened, they are so angry, and they do not see a solution just because they don’t want to see the reality. And the reality is they need to stop the war in Ukraine and then speak about their own dark future.”<\/p>\n

The report also acknowledged the significance of the 90 billion dollars in defence assistance for Europe and global security, characterising it as something that all people need.<\/p>\n