Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine was never about protecting Russians or strengthening Russia’s place in the world. It was always a war of neo-imperialist vanity, consolidation of power, organized theft and cultural annihilation.
When Putin announced his “special military operation” in February 2022, he claimed Russia was eliminating imaginary “Nazis” in Ukraine. In reality, the objective was to destroy Ukrainian identity, language and culture, re-colonize a democratic European nation, and prove to the Russian people and the world that Putin remained a leader of historic consequence.
How many times is this “The end of Putin”? Grift is the only constant.
