By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin By — Dan Sagalyn Dan Sagalyn By — Madison Staten Madison Staten By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara By — Veronica Vela Veronica Vela By — Zeba Warsi Zeba Warsi By — Juliet Fuisz Juliet Fuisz By — Alexa Gold Alexa Gold By — Sonia Kopelev Sonia Kopelev By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/compass-points/2026/06/why-some-russians-are-breaking-with-putin-as-ukraine-war-drags-on Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Story Russian President Vladimir Putin's iron grip on power is being challenged by the war in Ukraine and his government's authoritarian crackdowns. He finds himself in unfamiliar political territory, questioned by some of the country's elite and embarrassed by Ukraine's strikes into Russian cities. Compass Points moderator Nick Schifrin discusses the state of Russian politics with Arkady Ostrovsky. By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin is PBS News Hour’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent and serves as the host of Compass Points from PBS News. @nickschifrin By — Dan Sagalyn Dan Sagalyn As the deputy senior producer for foreign affairs and defense at the PBS NewsHour, Dan plays a key role in helping oversee and produce the program’s foreign affairs and defense stories. His pieces have broken new ground on an array of military issues, exposing debates simmering outside the public eye. @DanSagalyn By — Madison Staten Madison Staten By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara is a producer for PBS News. By — Veronica Vela Veronica Vela By — Zeba Warsi Zeba Warsi Zeba Warsi is a foreign affairs producer, based in Washington DC. She's a Columbia Journalism School graduate with an M.A. in Political journalism. She was one of the leading members of the NewsHour team that won the 2024 Peabody award for News for our coverage of the war in Gaza and Israel. @Zebaism By — Juliet Fuisz Juliet Fuisz By — Alexa Gold Alexa Gold Alexa Gold is an associate producer for PBS News. By — Sonia Kopelev Sonia Kopelev By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert is an associate producer for PBS News.