Russian President Vladimir Putin is in a vulnerable position after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. The Kremlin regime will undoubtedly collapse, the question is when, writes The Hill, citing analysts and politicians.
Now Russia resembles the Soviet Union of the 1970s. Its economy is increasingly weakened and distorted by the war, although the Kremlin tries to present to the world the exact opposite - how everything is going according to plan.
If Russia were winning in Ukraine, would Putin threaten to use nuclear weapons? Putin's Russia will inevitably fall apart - perhaps not immediately, but it will happen.
Judging by what is being said on the Russian home front, Putin has already lost the war and the only question is what measures to take to preserve the image of the Russian president.
This is due to minimal successes on the battlefield, which were achieved at a terrible cost in human lives; an economy that is rapidly heading towards disaster; and a population that is forced to survive with fewer and fewer resources in increasingly difficult socio-economic conditions.
The reality is that Putin is weak. Russia will now need decades to become a regional superpower with a healthy economy.
The 72-year-old Putin is increasingly willing to put his own political (and physical) survival above the country's needs, so Russia's degradation, death, and possible collapse are inevitable as long as Putin remains at the helm of his sinking ship.