Is Russia’s war machine running out of steam?

  • Fri, May 8, 2026 • 10:00 am ET
  • Atlantic Council Headquarters
  • 1400 L Street NW • Floor 11
  • Washington, DC 20005

The Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and the New Eurasian Strategies Centre examine the implications of Russia’s grinding war, struggling economy, and tightening internet controls.

On Friday, May 8 at 10:00 a.m. ET, the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and the New Eurasian Strategies Centre will co-host an expert discussion on Russia’s economic, military, and domestic pressures and their implications for Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

After more than four years of full-scale war, the Kremlin appears to be on the back foot. President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that Russia’s wartime economy is sputtering, while Western intelligence reports that Moscow is systematically manipulating data to present a false picture of economic strength. On the battlefield, territorial gains have largely stalled while Russian casualties climb past 1.2 million. Domestically, the Kremlin’s tightening internet controls are fueling discontent among soldiers, military bloggers, and citizens alike.

Eurasia Center Senior Director and former US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst moderates this conversation examining the effect of mounting setbacks on the Putin regime’s stability and its war on Ukraine.

New policy: In-person attendees will be required to show photo ID upon arrival, and no on-site registration will be permitted. Guests will not be admitted later than twenty minutes after the event’s start time.

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Speakers

Nataliya Bugayova
Director, Cognitive Warfare Project; Modern Warfare Fellow,
Institute for the Study of War

Irina Busygina
Visiting Scholar, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies,
Harvard University

John Lough
Senior Research Fellow; Head of Foreign Policy & International Partnerships,
New Eurasian Strategies Centre

Justin Sherman
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Cyber Statecraft Initiative,
Atlantic Council

Moderated by

Amb. John Herbst
Senior Director, Eurasia Center,
Atlantic Council

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