Whether Russia attacks Ukraine or not, one of the consequences is the same: Russia is once again considered an expanding power.
The dream of rebuilding the former Soviet Union is a dream come true for the countries that lived under Soviet rule.
Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy is often portrayed as effective diplomacy, this time acting against Russia’s interests.
It should be understood that Putin was the one who annexed Crimea, supported Russian separatists in Donbass and threatened to invade Ukraine. Ukraine’s armed effort and NATO warnings are only a response to Putin’s threats and actions. Moreover, without Putin’s dictatorship, Russia’s current military problems would probably not exist.
Putin is building his forces on the border with Ukraine. No logic other than the invasion justifies the accumulation of so many soldiers there.
The excuse to attack all that is missing. It seems to have been discovered: Putin accuses the Ukrainians of provocation, while he suggests that NATO could link Ukraine, which, among others, to such an expansion due to opposition from Germany and France.
The collapse of the US
To justify their military prowess, Russian leaders are betting on the internal collapse of the United States and other democracies. Studies predicting this decline have been circulating in the upper echelons of the Russian government since the 1980s. They are triggered by the shock of the Soviet Union’s own collapse, which is predicted by the United States, but by a real increase in American inequality.
So Joe Biden’s repeated warnings not to put America’s weakness in the bank.
Moreover, dictators are far removed from the concerns of their citizens.
Therefore, without any real debate in Russia on the appropriateness of a war, Putin is about to launch his military against Ukraine. If Russia had a free media and a competent opposition, war would have been avoided.
On the contrary, the Russian parliament, which is on Putin’s paycheck, recognizes the independence of the two regions that make up Donbass. Such recognition, if successful, would be tantamount to declaring war on Ukraine.
Common enemy
In all his brilliant calculations, and in his insane dreams of recapture, Putin seems to have forgotten one fact, however obvious: the fight against a common enemy strengthens relations between states.
The common enemy is Russia, and he makes a sacrifice to people all over Europe.
Nevertheless, there is no hatred for the Russians, the Soviet Communists may at one time be hated and feared. If there is a hatred, it is the hatred of dictators, especially Putin and his allies.
In short, Putin is isolated, but he does not understand it.
