Is Vladimir Putin losing his grip on Russia?

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]There's a question being asked more and more inside Russia. Is Vladimir Putin starting to lose his grip? Reports suggest the Kremlin has dramatically tightened protection around Putin amid fears of long range Ukrainian drone attacks and even assassination attempts.

[00:00:15]Some claims go further, suggesting he's spending more time in fortified underground locations. Or whether that's paranoia or simply precaution, one thing is clear. This war has changed Russia.

[00:00:26]I'm Yalda Hakeim, lead world news presenter for Sky News. I've covered Russia's war in Ukraine since the very beginning. And after more than four years of grinding advances, enormous losses, and relentless propaganda, there are growing signs of strain. Not collapse, not revolution, but strain.

[00:00:43]>> Decision to largely close down the internet. It's starting to generate, you know, vocal public opposition. this sense of paranoia. It's quite symptomatic of a authoritarian leader that is losing grip with the reality.

[00:00:58]Russia's economy has held up far better than many in the West predicted. But inflation is rising. Interest rates remain painfully high. And ordinary Russians are increasingly wary of a war that was supposed to last days, not years. Even this year's Victory Day parade felt different. Normally, it's a setpiece celebration of Russian military might, but this year's event was scaled down.

[00:01:20]>> This is as close as I can get to the parade because my accredititation for Red Square was suddenly cancelled at the last minute, just like most other members of the foreign media here. And I think it shows just how nervous the Kremlin has been around what is for them a marquee event.

[00:01:36]>> I've been to that parade probably five or six times. This time, the tanks and the the intercontinental ballistic missiles weren't there. The real sting in the tail with this um was Mr. Zilinsky giving Mr. Putin permission to hold his parade.

[00:01:47]>> This week, Putin arrives in China for talks with Xiinping. Putin wants to project strength, stability, and partnership. But behind the carefully choreographed optics lies a more uncomfortable truth for the Kremlin.

[00:01:59]Russia is becoming increasingly dependent on China economically, diplomatically, and strategically.

[00:02:04]Xiinping knows it, the West knows it, and increasingly the Russians know it.

[00:02:09]For years, the Kremlin framed Ukraine as our war. Russia's patriotic struggle against the West. Now, in some circles, it's increasingly being called Putin's war. The war Putin started to strengthen his grip on Russia may become the thing that slowly erodess