Russian officials are privately acknowledging a growing crisis inside Vladimir Putin’s political system amid the prolonged war against Ukraine, independent Russian outlet Verstka reported on Friday, May 22. According to the report, anxiety is spreading among mid-level Kremlin officials and bureaucrats as Russia faces declining public approval ratings and mounting war-related pressures.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “The fact that the system has no future is obvious to everyone, and everyone discusses it among themselves,” a mid-level employee of Russia’s presidential administration told Verstka. “But nobody goes beyond stating the fact,” the source added. At the same time, officials closest to Putin reportedly continue to feel relatively secure, while lower-ranking functionaries increasingly fear what could happen if the current government structure weakens or collapses. “If Putin’s power collapses, there is no future for us,” one Russian official told the outlet. “Everyone understands this, although nobody says it openly.” Officials say ‘most nervous groups’ tied to war According to Verstka, some Russian officials are trying to focus on “small personal matters” or distractions as uncertainty inside the system grows. “The situation is perfectly clear – tomorrow will either be worse or the same. And you cannot influence it,” one Kremlin-linked source said. “That’s why people become gloomy, together with everyone else.”