As Ukraine, with massive Western logistical and other assistance, has increasingly used long-range drones to target civilian infrastructure in Russia, Western war hawks are attempting to utilize it for a public relations campaign which argues that Ukraine is turning the tide, and therefore more weapons and money is needed.
The Financial Times set the tone in a recent op-ed declaring that this year’s defining “vibe shift” is the changing fortunes of Russia and Ukraine. The piece argues Moscow’s grip on the war is visibly slipping, pointing to monthly casualty estimates in the tens of thousands, marginal Ukrainian territorial gains over the past three months, and sudden Middle Eastern demand for Kyiv’s anti-drone technology as proof of Ukraine’s rising battlefield and diplomatic stature. The op-ed’s conclusion is explicit about what should follow from this “shift": “That creates a window of opportunity for Kyiv’s friends to tilt that balance further—by supporting Ukraine even more, and by further curtailing Russia’s ability to wage its war. That includes tightening sanctions, enforcing existing ones better and cracking down on circumvention.”
Foreign Policy pushed an even more dramatic version of this narrative in a piece titled “As the Tide Turns Against Putin, Beware the Drowning Man.” It cites Sweden’s military intelligence chief Thomas Nilsson, who claimed Russia’s economy is now headed toward “long-term decline or shock,” either of which he says ends in financial catastrophe. The article also quotes an anonymous Russian businessman telling the FT that “everyone is furious” with Putin’s handling of the war, which it frames as evidence of elite fractures inside Moscow.
In an instance of the pot calling the kettle black, it warns that a cornered Putin is exhibiting what it calls “drowning man syndrome: “As that reality bites, Putin will be tempted—and perhaps likely—to increase the threshold and frequency of Russian hybrid attacks and to turn the threats against the West that he is so fond of making into action.” It cites former MI6 chief Richard Moore’s assessment that Putin is “keen to expand the battlefield” through sabotage and cyberattacks against the West.
Taken together, both pieces reflect a consolidating media line: Russia is losing, Ukraine is winning, and the proper response is more Western escalation—even as the underlying battlefield picture remains in Russia’s favor.
