Russian hardliners are pushing President Vladimir Putin to formally declare war on Ukraine, saying his "special military operation" against the neighboring country is not enough, particularly after Ukraine's surprise attack on Moscow's air bases.
"Like every thinking patriot, I took it as a personal tragedy," one Russian official commented about the Ukrainians' "Operation Spider Web" attacks, with another high-ranking official describing the mood in the Kremlin as "shock and outrage," reports The Telegraph on Wednesday.
The conflict, now in its fourth year after Russia invaded Ukraine, has never been officially declared as a war, despite the loss of property and countless lives.
Russia's nationalist elite are saying that Putin should not only declare war but recruit a million more soldiers and conduct daily missile strikes on Kyiv until President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government is destroyed.
Kremlin insiders, speaking to The Telegraph on the condition of anonymity about whether the Ukrainian attack could push Russia to further escalate the war, commented that they fear what will happen if tougher action is not taken.
"Explosions, drones, sabotage, and possibly even terrorist attacks are what the future may hold for us if the Zelenskyy regime is not completely destroyed," one high-ranking official, describing himself as hawkish, said. "If Ukraine ceases to exist in its current form, the criminal underground will be demoralized."
A former senior official, who at one time directed operations against Ukraine, said that despite the severity of Ukraine's surprise attack, Russia did not change its military operations.
"In the Russian power system, where inertia and preserving the current balance are essential, that speaks volumes," the official said.
They say that a full-scale war declaration will permit stronger attacks on Ukraine, including daily intercontinental missile strikes and potentially the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
Further, declaring war could allow Moscow to mobilize two million reservists. At this time, most of Russia's soldiers are volunteers who earn the equivalent of just over $2,550 a month, which is considered high pay in most of the country's rural locations.
The Kremlin, however, has pushed to avoid referring to the conflict with Ukraine as a war, with Putin banning the media from using the words "war" or "invasion" after his troops invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Both state-owned and independent polls show, though, that Putin's popularity has grown since the Ukraine invasion, but declaring war and starting mass mobilization could change that, leaving the Kremlin aware that domestic control could be lost if the war with Ukraine affects more people.
Meanwhile, security services are tightening their control over Russia's radical and nationalist circles, leaving no power center in the country able to impose its will on Putin, a source close to State Duma leadership commented.
Further, despite the call for full war, some experts say Putin's military does not have the resources for a full-scale war, let alone daily missile attacks on Ukraine.
"There's always more room for escalation," one source said. "Maybe Putin could fire a few hundred extra drones per day. But that's about it."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.