Putin believes that Ukraine is historically part of Russia and it's independent existence is only tolerable if the country is firmly in Russia's sphere of influence.
He believes the CIA engineered a coup that overthrew the legitimate government of Ukraine and replaced it with a western puppet regime in 2014.
He believes the modern nationalist Ukrainian state draws from the legacy of Nazi collaboration during WWII and poses a direct threat to Russian national security. Removing this particular nationalist influence is a key goal of the military operation, which he seeks to achieve through negotiation.
Russia expressed interest in joining NATO during the Clinton administration but was rejected. This lead Russia to feel geopolitically isolated and cut off from the whole western project.
He believes the west is obsessed with weakening Russia as much as possible and that NATO is nothing more than an anti-Russian alliance.
Putin thinks China is now more powerful than the United States and more relevant.
He believes our government is controlled by an entrenched bureaucracy that cannot be changed through elections.
He believes the US and European Union are extorting taxpayers to fund Ukraine's war. He sees no reason why the US continues to support Ukraine.
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Two more House members announce they won’t seek reelection, as Hill lawmakers exit at record pace
Reps. Drew Ferguson, a Republican, and Wiley Nickel, a Democrat.
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/two-more-house-member-announce-they-wont-seek-reelection
Everything Putin said, we on this thread already know. I was only surprised by his claim that China’s economy is larger than that of the U.S. and has been for some time...and perhaps his reference to us having a fairly low rate of inflation. (He must rely on Federal Reserve data.) I wanted him to say the real number. That would’ve been cool.
He may well be correct on most of the points. I think he is quiet wrong on #6 and China knows it.
He should NOT have invaded Ukraine. It is only hastening the eventual dissolution of the Russian state as we know it.
SpyNavy
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
I have posted often that the Crimea has been under Russian control for centuries. It is Russia's only warm water port with access to the world's seas - a necessary position for a global naval power. Ukraine has accepted this historically.
Europe and the Biden Admin cooked up an idea of severing that naval link by bringing Ukraine into NATO - and being willing to go to war over it. They keep Ukraine on the hook by bestowing billions of $$$$ on them. Did you know that we are paying the salaries, benefits and retirements of Ukr govt employees❓ I fail to see how that helps in a war with Russia.
Zelensky is a simple minded puppet enjoying unbelievable wealth. Thousands of his countrymen and women are dying - for nothing.
Some international relations pundit expressed the truth recently: Putin is dragging the war along endlessly because it is draining America's strategic resources and weakening our currency! That is going to factor into if and when China overtakes Taiwan - for one example.