lose their statehoodPresident Vladimir V. Putin of Russia delivered an ominous message to Ukrainians on Saturday, telling government leaders they mightand likening the withering sanctions imposed on his country to a “declaration of war.”
Putin has form for framing confected excuses for his aggression in Ukraine.
Would he lash out beyond Ukraine, by a range of options, some catastrophic?
What might Putin be prepared to threaten and actually do if he frames crippling global sanctions a declaration of war against Russia rather than as an expected and surprisingly effective and unifying global response against the actions of Putin himself?
He has invoked the spectre of nuclear action three time already in the just first week of the war in Ukraine.
What would Europe and NATO be prepared to do if Putin does escalate the current conflict beyond Ukrainian borders.
Doing nothing would be a green light for more of the same … would fascinate China’s Xi … and any other despot with a grudge against the current western world order.
Doing something would no doubt be bloody and possibly existential.
European energy dependence on Russia has to be broken with a rapid and unified global emergency response imo … and the world needs to rethink the wisdom of excessive reliance on China for anything critical.
