by Gevorg Mirzayan
[REGNUM] 2025 became the year of the revival of the negotiation process with the West. It was first launched by the incoming Donald Trump administration, amid outraged cries from Democrats, Europeans, and Ukrainians. Then, even individual European leaders were forced to admit that negotiations were essential—and this applies not only to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
"I believe that it would be useful for us, as Europeans and Ukrainians, to find the right basis for resuming discussions with Moscow," French President Emmanuel Macron, once one of Europe's leading hawks on the Russian issue, said with difficulty.
All these words, these negotiations, are a kind of admission by Western elites that they have failed to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. They have not succeeded—and will not succeed—in any of the four key areas.
Thus, the West failed to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia at the front.
The hopes for this that arose at the end of 2022 began to crumble almost immediately, and by 2025 they had completely disintegrated.
This year, the Russian army demonstrated a record pace since the beginning of the Northern Military District, advancing along the entire front and liberating new territories with each passing day. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have been driven from their self-proclaimed "fortresses" such as Krasnoarmeysk, Dimitrov, Chasov Yar, Dzerzhinsk, and Hulyaipole.
The elite units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk direction have been defeated, and the liberation of new large territories is next in line.
Moreover, for the first time, perhaps since the second half of 2022, the Russian army is conducting successful offensives and assaults on cities simultaneously in several directions (Gulyaipole, Dimitrov, Krasnoarmeysk, Seversk, and Krasny Liman were taken at the same time ).
All this demonstrates both the increased skill of Russian troops and the growing problems of Kyiv units, both in terms of the declining quality of personnel (which is to be expected with forced mobilization) and in terms of problems with weapons supplies.
NATO will not be able to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, retired Italian Army General Marco Bertolini stated in the portal L'antidiplomatico.
"Of course, we can see that in this particular case, the end of the war would mean the defeat of NATO and the entire West, given its participation in a war that was supposed to lead to Moscow's 'strategic defeat.' A strategic defeat that, on the ground, now appears to be looming over NATO itself," the publication quoted a NATO military official as saying.
Europe's idea that it could provide Ukraine with everything it needed for a war has failed—as has the hope that the Russian economy couldn't sustain a war. Hence the sobering sentiment even among recent hawks, such as Czech President Petr Pavel, who declared: "What alternatives do we have? Fight Russia endlessly? Such an approach would likely lead to… serious damage to our economies."
And here the second strategic defeat of the West arises – on the economic front.
THE ECONOMY HASN'T COLLAPSED
At the beginning of the year, London's Financial Times stated that economic pressure on Russia had not had the expected effect. "The West's economic war has failed," the publication stated bluntly. Russia maintains stability, in part thanks to the competence and discretion of the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank, FT experts concluded.
At the same time, every attempt to build an “effective sanctions regime” against Russia’s main export item – hydrocarbons (whether it be a ban on oil imports by certain countries or restrictions on shipping) ends with Moscow finding ways around it, analysts at the Financial Times noted.
"Putin managed to restructure the economy to meet the needs of military operations, despite the West's harsh sanctions regime. At the same time, the security bloc did not completely overwhelm the country's economic life," the German magazine Focus concluded in December.
"All Western curses—the collapse of the Russian economy, defeat on the Ukrainian battlefield, and maximum political isolation—have not come true," the German publication states.
The West's failure to defeat sanctions is largely due to the professionalism of the Russian government, which quickly found effective ways to circumvent them. And this isn't just about the tanker fleet, which was the subject of widespread Western media coverage.
The discussion is about establishing channels for importing machine tools in 2022 and 2023, which will allow Russian industry to break current records.
We are talking about trade schemes that made it possible to import a significant portion of the consumer goods to which Russians have become accustomed.
We are talking about currency controls that curbed inflation.
However, beyond the government, others contributed to the survival of the Russian economy. For example, private businesses were able to recognize an opportunity and quickly fill the gaps left by Western competitors. Thanks to them, true import substitution began.
Conscientious foreign partners also made their mark, rushing to fill the vacant space in the Russian market. Take, for example, the Chinese auto industry. Under pressure in European markets, it found its niche in Russia and now sells a huge number of cars here.
Even more successful are Chinese high-tech brands, thanks to which Russians are now switching en masse from Western phones, refrigerators, etc. to equally high-quality Chinese models.
Finally, the Russian consumer, who steadfastly endured the hardships of the first years of the war, played a significant role in preserving the economy. Rather than mourning the loss of Western brands, they live in the hope of victory.
And all because Western countries were unable to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the third front – the mental one.
PATRIOTIC UPSURGE
"Believe it or not, Russia is great!" was the headline of a major article published in the British publication The Spectator in September. The author, journalist James Delingpole, defines greatness not only as economic stability with a 13% tax rate and well-stocked supermarket shelves, but also as the behavior of people on the streets.
"People are reserved, but polite, thoughtful, and often very cultured," Delingpole stated. The British guest noted no panic, no danger of "London-style" stabbings, or signs of protest.
When European politicians introduced visa sanctions (telling that travel to Europe is not a right for Russians, but a privilege), when they abolished Russian culture and demonized Russia, they counted on loyalty from the “creative class” they were cultivating.
They hoped that the youth of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities would take to the streets demanding an immediate end to the war and Russia's return to the so-called community of civilized nations, so that they could once again buy Western clothes and travel to Europe for a cup of coffee.
However, the exact opposite occurred—an unprecedented patriotic surge began in Russia and continues to this day. Hundreds of thousands of citizens went to the front, first as volunteers and then as contract soldiers.
Millions and tens of millions are participating in the volunteer movement, helping the front with money, weapons, equipment and everything they can.
The flag, the image of the soldier, patriotism, Russian culture—all of this has become sacred in the eyes of Russians.
And the more Europe tries to put pressure on Russia, the more it supports the terrorist activities of the Kyiv regime, the more it engages in cultural and even physical genocide of Russians, the more it causes rejection in the eyes of Russians, in whom the principle of “Russians do not surrender” has awakened.
And the words in Russian foreign policy doctrines that it will now be very difficult for us to restore relations with Europe fully reflect the attitude of the country's citizens as a whole.
All these inability of the West to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia at the front, in the economy, and in the minds of Russians determined a fourth inability: to inflict a defeat on it in world politics.
INSTEAD OF ISOLATION, GLOBAL SUPPORT
EU member states have acknowledged the failure of their strategy to isolate Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote on social media, sharing his impressions of the EU's online summit in August.
The August summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Anchorage largely contributed to breaking the political blockade that the West was trying to establish.
"The handshake in Alaska shows that the West's attempt to diplomatically isolate Russia has failed," the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung stated at the time.
"The meeting is seen as a victory for Putin, who has been shunned by the West for several years. He has now effectively emerged from the diplomatic isolation he has endured for the past three years," The New York Times noted.
But other Western media outlets acknowledged that Russia was not in international diplomatic isolation.
More and more UN member states are refusing to vote for anti-Russian resolutions, Reuters noted.
"India is demonstrating a desire to restore its strategic autonomy and will not allow Western countries to dictate its diplomatic decisions," Paris-based Le Monde commented on Putin's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The year 2025 has turned out in Russia's favor and exposed Europe's weakness," noted the German magazine Focus.
The world always favors the strong, the determined, and those who fight for a just cause. And Russia, during the war, has proven that it meets all these criteria.
That it can defend itself, will not bow to any pressure, and that its demands are fair. It's no coincidence that Vladimir Putin explained to our partners the reasons for the SVO and his willingness to fight for victory.
As a result, Russia not only thwarted attempts at isolation, not only was it able to maintain relations with the leaders of the developing world (who in fact helped Moscow in the war with the West), not only was it able to impose its vision of the conflict and ways to resolve it on its opponents.
Russia has succeeded in getting the most advanced and realistic Western leaders – including US President Donald Trump – to effectively accept our concept of a multipolar world.
Therefore, Vladimir Putin can rightfully be considered the most successful diplomat of 2025. Successful and, most importantly, constructive—after all, Russia's de facto victory over the West could lead to the construction of a new, more just and sustainable world.