It must have come as a surprise to Putin at not being able to oust Zelenskyy in a relatively short war thereby exposing the manner in which Russian troops carried out their ”special military operation.” A no-holds-barred approach making a mockery of international law and giving the finger to humanity. The indescriminate shelling of civilian targets, the annihalation of complete towns and villages, the murder and rape of women and children all with a sprinkling of Orwellian logic that Russia is the victim, is nothing if not the writing on the wall.
This is the total war, once so popular with the Nazis and carried out on people they considered inferior with little right to live, other than as slaves to their conquerors. Putin and the dystopian power elite of Russia have taken us all back to those dark days and I am sure not unintentionally so. In my opinion, the reason why is best answered by a psychiatrist or a psychologist rather then a political analyst, a terrifying thought though historically not unique. The ability to do what Russia has done however lies in a backward and tormented country with a nuclear arsenal, believing it can keep its place amongst the nations of the world by intimidation. The similarity with North Korea is striking.
Russia has gained little with its invasion, thanks to the courage and military ingenuity of Ukraine. Like it or not however, that places western democracies in indirect confrontation with Russia not only through renewed sanctions but now also by having no other alternative than to arm Ukraine.
The Ukrainians have humiliated the great Russian bear on the battlefield and Putin is left holding a Teddy Bear with a nuclear missile under its arm and that is what has to be dealt with.
History might give us a clue by casting a thought to Hungary in 1954, the Prague Spring in 1968 and the Berlin Blockade and Wall in 1948 and 1961 respectively. There was no U.S. intervention. WWlll wasn´ t worth it then and won´ t be worth it now, might be a qualified guess and in my opinion a correct one.
Russia has to be stopped, there can be no doubt about that; not only for the sake of Ukraine but for the rest of the democratic world. Arm Ukraine and they will do their bit, to not only keep the Russians at bay but make them wonder if sending their young men to die for the vainglory of a man living in the past is worth it; although a decisive military defeat of the Russian army would also mean a step closer to a nuclear knee-jerk reaction from Putin. The defining input for bringing this war to an end are serious sanctions depriving Russia of the income to feed its war industry, a definite boost would be for Germany to stop scratching its arse on that one. Things are not looking good for Russia, neither militarily, economically nor politically. Russians have become outcasts in a modern, democratic and global society taking a stand against inhumanity and Russia´ s atrocities in Ukraine.
Somewhere along the line, today, tomorrow or next year, decision making in Russia will once again be best judged by political rather than psychiatric analysis, depending on how long it takes for the money to run out and the penny to drop.
