Today we find Vladimir Putin’s Russia projecting strength abroad and tightening its grip at home. As of June 24th, the Ukraine conflict continues unabated, with Putin’s government simultaneously threatening escalation, fending off criticism over its support for Iran, and advancing domestic legal and technological controls.
The war’s brutality was on full display as Russian forces killed at least 17 people in an attack on Dnipro, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to warn that Putin could attack a NATO member “within five years to test the alliance,” a claim reported by Sky News. Meanwhile, the battle for Kharkiv and Kursk is reportedly in its “final stages,” with Russia presenting “three truce demands” that Kyiv has thus far rejected.
On the international front, Putin has sought to leverage chaos elsewhere, holding meetings with Iran’s top diplomats amid heightened tensions after the recent US strike on Tehran and Israel’s retaliatory attacks. Despite previous speculation about Russia’s willingness to support Iran militarily, reports now describe Moscow as giving Iran “the cold shoulder”, favoring its own strategic ambiguity. In public remarks, Putin claimed that “US strikes on Iran are pushing the world to a very dangerous line,” as quoted by MSN News, while Russian officials railed against what they described as a NATO campaign to “demonise” their country and justify a record 5% alliance-wide defense spending target.
Back home, Putin’s regime is using the cover of war to introduce a flurry of legislative changes. He signed a law handing Russia’s FSB intelligence service sweeping oversight of international scientific collaborations, a move widely seen as designed to stem “unfriendly influence” and tighten control over research and universities. On the same day, Putin approved a watered-down version of a “Russian language protection” law, continuing the Kremlin’s campaign to define Russian identity by legislative fiat.
Technological control is also surging forward: in a direct challenge to Silicon Valley, Putin authorized the creation of a new state-backed messaging app to “combat” Western platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram, reinforcing the Kremlin’s drive for digital sovereignty and surveillance.
If Moscow’s authoritarian habits are old, its tools are new—and so, increasingly, are its weapons. As the Economic Times reports, Putin is “going full throttle” on hypersonic missile tests, with state media amplifying claims that these systems could be used to strike back at perceived threats from NATO or the US. The threat is not merely rhetorical: Russian military spending continues to soar, while official rhetoric presents Moscow as the last bastion against a hostile Western world order.
For now, the “cascade of collapse” described by some analysts has yet to materialize, but the trends are unmistakable: Putin’s Russia, under pressure abroad and increasingly repressive at home, is doubling down on old authoritarian logic—more control, less dissent, and a willingness to escalate, or at least threaten escalation, to preserve its power. Whether the world is witnessing the “final stages” of the current war, or merely another chapter in a protracted standoff, one thing is clear: Putin intends to remain centre stage, script firmly in hand, spotlight unwavering, consequences be damned.