Sharon Gaffney is pleased to welcome Peter Zalmayev, director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative. He rejects narratives that portray Moscow as only now “taking the gloves off,” against Ukraine, arguing instead that Russia has consistently pursued maximalist objectives while adapting its tactics to battlefield realities. Although Ukrainian innovation, particularly in drone warfare, has complicated Russia’s military superiority, Zalmayev contends that technological ingenuity cannot permanently compensate for disparities in manpower, industrial capacity, and external military support. He argues that the conflict has entered an “escalatory spiral of attrition.”