The Russia–Ukraine War at Four: Russia's Attempts to Regain status

Abstract

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.