I dunno. Biden told Putin he was good to go for a small excursion. It won't be easy for Putin to unhear that. He might but it would be a lot for him to leave that on the table. And as we know, some people are not good at leaving things on the table and walking away.
Oh it's not over by a long shot, but Putin may just kick the can down the road a few more weeks. It is getting warmer though. Rain later this week. https://www.weatherwx.com/forecasts/ua/kiev.html Look at those shoes. Stiletto heels are probably out of the question eh? It could be done though. Just wrap leather around Tungsten rods. Pain in the ass at the airport though.
Putin is left with the “look what you made me do” fallacy. As if Russia has ever not been a snake in the grass.
NATO excuses are a red herring. If Russia fears NATO so much, maybe stop being bellicose assholes pushing countries into wanting to join NATO? Plus sovereign nations. Russia can fuck right off w/their lame BS, they'd get more respect if they just admitted they're imperialists.
It’s now or never for the Russians. Their oligarchy/strongman nationalist way of government is legitimately under threat from the expansion of NATO. This is not a military threat but simple expansion of democracy and rule of law. Putin would like to keep throwing journalists and scientists out of windows and Ukraine becoming more western is too close to comfort for Vlad. And here we are with Putin in a no win situation. Yes, he has 100k on the border and air strike capability but he will need 600k to occupy Ukraine. So what happens after he goes in and topples the government? The destabilization this poses is the threat because how long will the Russians stay in Ukraine, what kind of atrocities will they commit, what kind of domestic insurgence will develop? If Ukraine doesn’t turn into the Bermuda Triangle for Putin on its own, then hostilities with the west will just grow. The Europeans will not go about business as usual with Russia on the move. Even the most dovish euro countries see the threat in that and no one wants a return of the old USSR. The whole thing is a shit situation but it is a result of expanding democracy and weakening Russia to ultimately get those nukes. And people ultimately forget this is what it is all about.
What is up with Putin and these unnecessarily long tables? Never trust the Russians. https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...matic-work-european-security-push-2022-02-14/
It's part of their covid kabuki dance. If you have traveled and have not quarantined, you can still go and kiss Vlad's ring but have to keep your distance. I think they call those "GWB" tables.