Vladimir Putin and the Hill He is Drawn to Die Upon

Is Vladimir Putin capable of coming to terms with the mounting concerns over the state-of-affairs in Russia brought about by his war in Ukraine? His predilection for conflict has dominated policy throughout most of his 25 years in leadership beginning with his war in Chechnya (1999 – 2009), and followed by incursion into Georgia (2008), the Donbas War (2014 – 2022), the Syrian Civil War (2015 – 2024), to the invasion of Ukraine (2022 – present). The strategy has maintained Putin’s version of the historic Russian “strong-man” ethos at the helm of Russia’s destiny, one in which the nation’s security comes at the expense of individual freedom. In the process, Putin has ensured for himself the power once possessed by his tsarist ancestors but now with the added benefit of a much more sophisticated internal security apparatus. The problem confronting him in this present moment is the wall he has run into both militarily and economically. The question confronting Russians now must revolve around whether Putin is mentally capable of overcoming his own shortcomings to save the country from ruin. … More Vladimir Putin and the Hill He is Drawn to Die Upon

The Choreography of the Current Ukraine – Russia – U.S. “Peace Talks”

The second round of trilateral peace negotiations were held in Abu Dhabi on February 4-5, 2026, following initial talks that had occurred on January 23-24, 2026. A week-long U.S.-brokered ceasefire sparing, specifically, energy infrastructure was announced by the Trump administration on January 29 and would be in effect preceding this second round of talks at a time when winter temperatures had fallen dramatically. Moscow’s interpretation of the ceasefire, however, gave it four days at best and would only involve Kyiv whereas Ukraine was seemingly obliged to give consideration for all of Russia. True to form, during the night of February 2-3, Russia launched upwards of 450 drones and more than 70 missiles, 32 of which were ballistic missiles, specifically targeting energy facilities across 27 sites in at least six regions of Ukraine, disrupting water, electricity and heat. More than 1,170 apartment buildings in Kyiv alone lost heat when outside temperatures had fallen to -4 deg F (-20 deg C). The following night saw a similar attack damaging residential buildings and schools with several casualties. That these attacks heralded the second round of “peace talks” speaks to Vladimir Putin’s disregard for attempts to seek a solution to a war in which he and his Kremlin colleagues continue to perpetuate war crimes that have cumulatively amounted to calls of genocide. … More The Choreography of the Current Ukraine – Russia – U.S. “Peace Talks”