Sybiha: The more pressure on Moscow and support for Ukraine, the sooner the war will be over, the sooner peace efforts will succeed
Russia is not winning the war against Ukraine; its human losses on the battlefield are mounting, its economy is weakening, and Ukraine is, meanwhile, expanding its military capabilities, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, emphasizing that additional sanctions pressure, particularly on Russia's shadow fleet and energy sector, as well as increased support for Ukraine's defense and resilience, are "crucial."
“Russia is not winning its war against Ukraine. In fact, this war is a failure for Moscow,” Sybiha said on X Wednesday.
“It will only get worse for Putin, both on the battlefield and in the economy. Additional sanctions pressure, particularly against Russia's shadow fleet and energy, as well as increased support for Ukraine's defense and resilience, are critical. The more pressure on Moscow and support for Ukraine, the sooner the war will be over. The sooner Putin loses any illusions about his ability to achieve anything militarily, the sooner peace efforts will succeed,” Sybiha emphasized.
In support of his theses, Sybiha cited the following data: in 2025, Russia lost 480,000 soldiers injured and killed while occupying an additional 0.7% of Ukrainian territory. In January 2026, despite losing over a 1,000 soldiers per day on average, Russia occupied an additional 0.04%. This is the lowest monthly advance in 9 months.
“Over the previous 25 months, from January 2024 to January 2026, Russia occupied an additional 21% of the Donetsk region while losing hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Yet, this is less than the area of the Donetsk region that Ukraine still controls,” the minister stressed.
He also drew attention to the state of the Russian economy, which “has entered a deep recession.” Sybiha noted that the overall budget deficit of Russian regions reached a record level of $21 billion in 2025, which is eight times higher than in 2023. “Moscow is unable to reverse the decline in output in 12 key industries. Instead, it raises taxes. 15% more Russian businesses have closed in 2025, with another additional 10% on the verge of doing so,” Sybiha said.
According to him, “Russia's inadequate budget planning will result in even larger budget gaps. The gap between Russian finance ministry figures and reality will result in at least $25 billion less oil revenue for the Russian budget this year.”
“Ukraine, on the other hand, is stepping up its deep strike campaign against legitimate military targets within Russia. In 2025, there were 719 such strikes that caused $15 billion in damage. And the campaign will continue. The war is coming back to where it came from—to Russia. And it's only fair,” the Ukrainian foreign minister noted.
