Kremlin Hawks Frustrated That Putin Still Has Not Declared Formal State Of War

Russian hardliners are urging President Vladimir Putin to officially declare war on Ukraine, arguing that the current “special military operation” is insufficient, especially in the wake Ukraine’s recent surprise strike on air bases near Moscow. President Zelensky had touted last month’s ‘Operation Spider’s Web’ as a huge success, and an unknown number of long-range strategic bombers, valuable assets in Russia’s air force, were reportedly destroyed.

Although the conflict has entered its fourth year since Russia’s invasion, it still has never been formally recognized as a war, despite estimates of casualties in the hundreds of thousands on both sides. Kremlin officials have at times used language denoting all-out ‘war’, but the Kremlin still classified it as a ‘special military operation’ – which is a very limited designation in Russian law.

Members of Russia’s nationalist elite are calling for more drastic measures, evident also on popular Russian military blog and social media channels.

Kremlin insiders, speaking anonymously to The Telegraph, expressed concern that failing to escalate could lead to even greater risks for Russia - as NATO has very obviously grown more deeply involved. There’s an assumption that Western intelligence assisted in Ukraine’ Spider’s Web operation.

A full war declaration by Putin would mobilize all of society and the economy on a much bigger level, and would lead to a likely draft and mass military recruitment campaign. While Russian forces have lately expanded ground ops to the west of Donesk oblast, which they have almost full control over, it has been clear that the Russian army doesn’t seek to occupy Kiev or places deep into central or Western Ukraine.

Instead Putin has of late declared that his forces will establish a large buffer zone, to protect from the regular drone and artillery attacks on southern Russian, and into Crimea.

The Telegraph on Wednesday cited a Russian official as saying, “Like every thinking patriot, I took it as a personal tragedy.” 

And another high-ranking official characterized the mood in the Kremlin as “shock and outrage”.

“Explosions, drones, sabotage, and possibly even terrorist attacks are what the future may hold for us if the Zelenskyy regime is not completely destroyed,” the high-ranking official said. “If Ukraine ceases to exist in its current form, the criminal underground will be demoralized.”

Throughout the war Russian aerial attacks have not fully targeted Ukrainian HQ centers – only in some specific major retaliatory instances. Air strikes on Kiev have stepped up this month, however.

I’m in a bomb shelter, listening to explosions and checking the news about Russia’s attack on Kyiv. A building near my neighborhood is burning. A woman here got a call from a friend saying their apartment is gone, she’s in shock. The city is burning after massive Russian strikes pic.twitter.com/vavWs5Ch0Z

— Iryna Matviyishyn (@IMatviyishyn) June 17, 2025

But each side is still focusing on degrading the other’s military and industrial sectors and infrastructure, with the White House trying to keep an ‘energy’ ceasefire in place – that is, the US wants attacks on energy infrastructure halted.

The timing of these reports of hawks pressing Putin are interesting, given much of the globe’s attention is currently focused on the growing Iran-Israel war, and as Pentagon intervention remains a big open question.