russia’s Leadership is Now Actively Preparing for Defeat in Ukraine (video commentary)

02/19/2026

In the midst of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is cracking down on communications inside of Russia. Major apps like Telegram, WhatsApp, and YouTube have been banned, and the FSB has been given authority to shut off internal communications in times of crisis. This might seem like a standard authoritarian crackdown, and it is, but that familiarity makes it easy to miss the significance of the timing of these changes in Russia specifically. In this video, I dive deep into the implications, and explain why it could be an internal admission by Putin that Russia is actually losing the war in Ukraine.