2026/02/16 by Janko Šćepanović · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Environmental Science · #European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies #International Relations and Foreign Policy #Environmental and Biological Research in Conflict Zones
paper · doi:10.1177/00207020261424523
openalex publication_date 2026/02/16 · openalex created_date 2026/02/17 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Four years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war continues to shape European and world events. One of the war's early “casualties” was Russia's great power status. Scholars have examined Russia's diminishing influence at international fora, where it has faced condemnations for its actions in Ukraine; President Vladimir Putin's diplomatic isolation; and the Russian military's poor performance. They conclude that Russia has experienced a contraction of status. Seeking to regain some of its former standing, during the last two years, Russia hosted a high-profile BRICS summit in 2024 and took an early lead in proposing ceasefire initiatives at the United Nations during the Israel–Hamas War. Its military has also improved its performance, making relatively significant advances in 2024 and 2025. Drawing on the status scholarship in IR, this paper contextualizes these developments. It highlights the limits of Russia's purported status recovery and argues that the continuation of the war in Ukraine diverts Russia's resources and attention away from other critical sources of status.