Category: Putin

When Rhetoric Clouds the Realities of Russia’s War 
Part I: Underestimation

December 8, 2025

It’s easy to understand how the current American buffoonery, clearly manifested at the negotiating table, might make one deeply cynical of diplomacy when it’s seen to be geared toward benefiting the aggressor and an outside dealmaker rather than the victim of the aggression and its supportive neighbor, Europe. The nature of the proposed settlement for ending Russia’s war upon Ukraine seems only to forestall an inevitable resumption of hostility given the historical unreliability of security guarantees, particularly when it comes to Russia. Parallels are seen with the Trump Administration’s recent bungling of trade agreements with China in wild pursuit of bargains in the absence of more thoughtful long-term benefits. … More When Rhetoric Clouds the Realities of Russia’s War Part I: Underestimation

Winter Comes to Moscow

November 25, 2025

A fourth year of war is nearing an end and whereas the aggressor nation has experienced comparatively little of the physical trauma associated with this conflict, circumstances have changed in the current year enough to threaten the Russian Federation’s (RF) own survival. For Vladimir Putin, however, it is not the sentiment of the inhabitants within the broad scope of the RF that matters as much as those who dwell in Moscow. The Russian capital is under threat and not just from imposed international economic sanctions, mounting financial strain, and war fatigue, but to more direct elements that will undermine both civil life and the Kremlin’s authority. And perhaps it’s time for American media to take more notice of Russia’s many vulnerabilities as it contemplates an end to the war. … More Winter Comes to Moscow

Putin’s ‘End of Days’

September 23, 2025

All the foreseeable advantages afforded Russia since its ill-fated 2022 invasion of Ukraine have been disappearing at an accelerative rate. The illusion of its military prowess with its limitless manpower and technological capabilities should have begun to raise doubts soon after the war began when it met the reality of Ukraine’s two counteroffensives in the latter part of 2022. More to say about the ongoing war immediately below but for Vladimir Putin, military failure is not his worst problem. It’s what awaits him in the last quarter of 2025. A fate reminiscent of the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 hangs in the balance before him now and may ultimately usher the despot and all his ugliness to an ignominious end. … More Putin’s ‘End of Days’

The Anxiety Over Ukraine’s Entry Into NATO

July 20, 2025

Both the U.S. and NATO have shown considerable restraint in support of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion by their very measured and incremental provision of armament, succeeding only in prolonging the conflict and continuing the suffering of Ukraine’s civilian population. Reasons for doing so have centered upon the fear of escalation and the perception that they would be drawn into direct military involvement against Russia in what would become a world war. This continuing fear of confrontation with Russia among NATO’s several member nations has not only prevented consensus regarding Ukraine’s admission into NATO but allowed Russia to behave as a rogue entity, committing numerous atrocities in direct contravention of international norms and exposing the weakness of the United Nations. … More The Anxiety Over Ukraine’s Entry Into NATO

Putin’s Russia – Repression, Brutalism, Terrorism, and All That

June 22, 2025

An old Russia thrives in the here and now. Several undesirable features of past centuries of authoritarian rule prevail as standard practice in the current Russia. The repression of tsarist autocracy with its early institutionalized secret police became more pervasive in 20th century Soviet society. The latter gave way to Stalinist terror of which some of the worst elements are reflected in Vladimir Putin’s 21st century Russia. And now, Russian chauvinism has found new expression in a regime composed of self-dealing, servile functionaries whose devotion to their resident despot remains a top priority. … More Putin’s Russia – Repression, Brutalism, Terrorism, and All That

European Solidarity and Purpose in the Face of the Russian Threat

June 10, 2025

If there is a truth to be learned from the history of global conflict, it must be that appeasement rarely brings a lasting peace when it is seen to result preferentially in concessions to the aggressor. Revanchist grievances arise and fester for generations and wounds are not forgiven. Even worse, the aggressor remains unsated when the original goal was not achieved. This was the lesson of the last world war and the one that most seem intent on forgetting, particularly those foolishly convinced of somehow being isolated from harm or those simply wanting to get on with the business of making money under more controlled circumstances. The failure to face the hard reality of ending a war by stopping an overt aggression in its tracks invites a future of recidivism acted out by the same aggressor or simply another of the same ilk. … More European Solidarity and Purpose in the Face of the Russian Threat

Canada and Ukraine’s Defense Against Russian Aggression – A Shared Hatred of Authoritarianism

May 2, 2025

Canadians hate being told they shouldn’t be a country especially by an increasingly authoritarian-leaning American regime much like Ukrainians hate the idea of being told the same by a Russian dictator who actually invaded their country. Both the U.S. and Canada are awakening to the grotesque political reality that an illiberal government has come to power in “the shining city upon a hill” as Ronald Reagan once pictured Washington DC. … More Canada and Ukraine’s Defense Against Russian Aggression – A Shared Hatred of Authoritarianism

The Argument for a Reconstituted Ukraine as it was Before Putin

April 27, 2025

A nation’s viability as an autonomous, self-sustaining, and prospering entity depends upon the ongoing welfare of its people, its natural resources, a balanced governance, the ability to defend itself and its neighbors from foreign threat, a shared intelligence with its allies, and fair-minded reciprocal trade relations. For Ukraine, the road has been not just difficult but treacherous, the latter to do with Russia and, specifically, Vladimir Putin. Of all the justifications given for Russia’s invasion, none measure up for anyone but those who either perversely peddle Kremlin propaganda or who lack understanding of the historical background of the region and the detail of the events that actually transpired during the several years before the conflict. I would leave all these latter arguments that itemize the relevant issues to previously published material in order to focus on why Ukraine must remain whole rather than be disassembled by an ill-advised peace treaty. … More The Argument for a Reconstituted Ukraine as it was Before Putin

Putin’s Deceit: Ukraine, Belarus and the Road to Eastern Europe

April 14, 2025

Europe’s moment has come and action is called for in the face of Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine as U.S. commitment predictably gives ground to its longstanding adversary. Vladimir Putin’s imperialist designs are committed first to bringing both Ukraine and Belarus back into Russia’s fold before considering the options of returning the nations of the Baltic region and Eastern Europe under Russian hegemony. That doesn’t mean to say Putin is not meddling elsewhere to cause instability within Europe as in the Western Balkan nations, Germany, Romania, Poland, France, the United Kingdom and still other nations. … More Putin’s Deceit: Ukraine, Belarus and the Road to Eastern Europe

So, Who Wants to be Part of Russia?

February 27, 2025

Three years ago when Russia made its imperialist intentions clear with the invasion of Ukraine, it was with the belief that the Ukrainian people really had no country of their own. As it turned out, to Russia’s dismay, the Ukrainians thought otherwise, enough for them to have withstood over a thousand days of brutal warfare with the sort of national will that would challenge any nation to have done the same. In the process, they have inflicted heavy losses upon Russia’s military, enough so that it is now struggling to maintain an effective offensive while its war economy is threatened with collapse should it continue on its present course. … More So, Who Wants to be Part of Russia?