Crisis is brewing yet again in the intrinsically antagonistic relations between Russia and Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin seeks to harvest richer political dividends from it than he did half a year ago. The apparent buildup of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border follows much the same pattern; Moscow’s denials of easily detectable parks of military hardware are as categorical as before; and domestic public concerns are similarly focused on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. One notable difference is the upping by Putin and his courtiers of the aggressiveness of their discourse, which combines predictions of Ukraine’s imminent collapse with threats to confront the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) possible interference. By themselves, harsh words generally yield few tangible results, however; while many Moscow mainstream experts argue that Russia has no plausible rationale for launching a war (Valdaiclub.com, November 25; Nezavisimaya Gazeta, November 22). What, then, underpins the expectations of higher rewards?
Ukraine’s Troubles, Putin’s ‘Red Lines’ and Biden’s Warnings – Jamestown
