CasualtiesThe true cost is, of course, carefully suppressed in a Russia where information is under increasingly tight control. Following a brief sanctions shock after the 2022 invasion, Russian military spending surged, and its economy boomed. Last summer, Russia stood by powerlessly as US and Israeli war planes struck Iran, another key Russian Kremlin partner in the Middle East, targeting its nuclear facilities. But after four years of grinding war, that has taken a horrific toll on Ukraine, Russia has been left depleted at home and diminished on the international stage. Back on that hotel rooftop in Kyiv in February 2022, I was wrong – along with many others – about the likelihood of Putin ordering a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source: CNN February 21, 2026 09:00 UTC