In This Running Estimate…

• Russian domestic support for Putin and the Special Military Operation (SMO) remains high, while roughly half of Russians continue to favor a negotiated end to the war.
• Russia faces a demographic crisis of a decreasing population and continued middling weak support for Putin and the SMO from the younger generations.
• In response to manpower shortages, Russian youth are being recruited to fight in Ukraine and work in factories producing war materiel.
• Putin mandated patriotic and military education for all Russian schoolchildren and increased emphasis on voluntary youth paramilitary groups to shape future generations.
• An intense domestic social media campaign targets Russian youth to support Putin and the SMO.