Russian officials and state media have largely refrained from publicly discussing the two-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. They were probably trying to avoid drawing attention to Russia's failure to achieve its stated war goals at a significant cost.
The Russian authorities did not mention the anniversary of the war
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that on February 25, the Russian opposition News Agency said that the Russian state TV channels Rossiya 1 and Pervyi Kanal, as well as the Gazprom Media-owned NTV channel, did not mention the second the anniversary of the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on the air on February 24.
American analysts say the reason for this is that Russian officials and state-affiliated TV channels probably tried not to draw attention to Russia's inability to achieve its stated strategic goals in Ukraine.
Among such unachieved goals was the capture of the entire Luhansk and Donetsk regions while suffering heavy losses.
A recent Russian public opinion poll found that Russian attitudes toward the war in Ukraine have remained essentially unchanged in recent months and that most Russians are largely apathetic about the war. However, most do not support a second wave of mobilization.
Why Putin was silent about the anniversary of the war
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russian government officials likely refrained from covering the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion to preserve public apathy toward the war.
This partly allows Russian officials to continue the war without significant public backlash.
ISW estimates that Putin is likely aware that a second wave of mobilisation will be broadly unpopular and is concerned that such a move would cause widespread discontent.
However, Putin may become less concerned about public sentiment after his re-election in March 2024 and decide that Russia's need to build up its armed forces outweighs the risks of widespread domestic discontent.
