Did you notice how often Putin uses "solutions" or "next steps" that involve at least two gains at once?

Take the protests in Russia after the partial mobilisation: Young men were arrested and while in custody served their draft orders. Advantages: Putin cracks down on protests by scaring people off while at the same time filling the ranks of his depleted forces.

Take the annexation of the four Ukrainian oblasts: Putin incorporates these areas into Russian state territory and announces the use of nuclear weapons in case of further "aggression". Advantages: As he can now point to "Greater Russia" to be attacked, he strengthens the bond between regime and people and subdues opposition. At the same time, as the West and NATO cannot allow Putin to use nuclear weapons in his war of aggression (it would open the door for "nuclear extortion" by any rogue state), Putin has changed the subject: from Russia's imperialist war on Ukraine to a war of self-defense against the West and NATO – something he has claimed him and Russia to confront since the early 2000s.

#Ukraine #Putin