Shoigu is no longer confident of victory.

Things have sure changed on the way Russian commanders are looking at the war they started.....

Shoigu is no longer confident of victory. In a year and a half of war, his rhetoric has changed from "domination has been won" to "we survived the summer... we are keeping the defense".
Let's compare this speech with a more upbeat speech at the Defense Ministry meeting a month after the invasion began (both speeches can be watched in one video).
🔷 What Shoigu said on March 29, 2022:
▪️The main tasks of the first stage of the operation have been accomplished.
▪️The combat potential of the Ukrainian armed forces has been significantly reduced.
▪️Air supremacy has been conquered, the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense system have been almost destroyed.
▪️The naval forces have ceased to exist, and all land forces formations have suffered significant losses.
🔷 What Shoigu said on September 13, 2023:
▪️Russian troops have survived, survived the spring and summer campaigns, now the fall campaign has come.
▪️The troops are defending what they need to defend.
▪️When asked by a reporter about victory, the minister paused, hesitantly spread his hands and only then said: "We have no other options."
The last major success of the Russian Armed Forces was the capture of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk during the summer 2022. After that, Shoigu's army began retreating from Kharkiv Oblast and Kherson. In May, Bakhmut was captured by Wagner PMC, but both sides believed that this city was not of strategic importance.
During the summer counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian troops were forced to leave several villages in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions, and the most fortified line of defense, known as the "Surovikin's defense," was broken through.