Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t going well, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian says that’s because he listened to Trump and thought NATO didn’t have the resolve to stand up to him.
Historian Anne Applebaum said Wednesday on CNN that Putin has long wanted to weaken the NATO alliance, and Trump’s feckless actions and policies led him to believe the Western powers wouldn’t be willing to defend Ukraine:
“Yes, I think Putin was listening to Trump’s denunciations of NATO and he imagined NATO was permanently divided and wouldn’t be able to unite again. I think he didn’t count on what the sight of tanks rolling across a European country would do to people in Germany, people in Italy, people in France, people in Europe, and of course people in the United States.”
However, NATO is now being tested, Applebaum noted, and the alliance is proving to be more than equal to the task:
“It reminds everybody of a part of the European past that we hoped would never come back and NATO was encouraged to prevent. You have seen a really remarkable shift all across Europe as Europeans do now what should have been done some months ago, which is to reinforce and rearm Ukraine.”
Putin has overplayed his hand. And that could well cost him the war in Ukraine, as well as his position of power and his life.
Even though the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been going on for less than two weeks now, there are multiple reports that the Russian military is suffering staggering troop losses and morale is low among the soldiers who have been sent to fight.
Has Russian President Vladimir Putin overplayed his hand? And what can we expect next in the conflict?
Ed Arnold, a research fellow for European security at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) told Reuters that Putin’s military excursion is about to become “unsustainable,” noting:
“At the current rate of Russian losses, which are not confirmed, but we do have indications that this operation would be unsustainable within about three weeks from the Russian perspective.
“In which case that they would have to consolidate the gains already made and look to see a way of trying to freeze the conflict on the current lines of advance while they [mobilize] more forces from Russia.”
Arnold then spelled out exactly how Russian forces are starting to bog down as they attempt to take control of Ukraine:
“In the north,” Russian forces are “still looking to fully encircle Kyiv.
“In the south, the Russian advance is continued to be slow but they’re seeing a lot more successes in the south, taking Kherson and consolidating and pushing further west, and then also focusing now on Mariupol. However, at the moment, the Russian operation is going so badly, especially from logistics point of view that really Russia might just not have the numbers to make another conflict that is cold be hot again.”
Massive amounts of military and humanitarian aid are being poured into Ukraine by the world, and that means the Russians will face more resistance everywhere they go. That will lead to an already overburdened Russian military force becoming more vulnerable, which will result in more casualties. Those deaths are causing protests in Russia, which is bad news for Putin, who is already on shaky footing. He may not survive this massive miscalculation.
As Russian troops continue to attack Ukraine at the behest of Russian President and mass murderer Vladimir Putin, there are increasing reports that anti-war protests are taking place across the country in response to the sudden incursion into a neighboring country.
Vladimir Putin has said there is broad public support for the invasion of Ukraine that he announced just before dawn on Thursday morning. But by evening, thousands of people in cities across Russia had defied police threats to take to central squares and protest against the military campaign.
Police had made at least 1,702 arrest in 53 Russian cities as of Thursday evening, according to the OVD-Info monitor, as they cracked down on the unsanctioned protests. Most of the arrests were made in Moscow and St Petersburg, where the crowds were largest.
The protesters chanted: “No to war!” as they exchanged shocked reactions to the attack on Ukraine.
If Putin expected the Russian people to support his unproved attack without saying a word, it appears he was badly mistaken, and that, according to a noted Russia expert, must have the Russian leader terrified.
Appearing on CNN, David Remnick, who has researched and written on Russia for decades, was asked what he thought about whether or not Putin actually wants to try and rebuild the old Soviet Union. He responded:
“I think in a sense that what Biden seemed to be talking about the re-creation of this old Soviet Union — and all 15 of what were republics and what are now independent nations — is not only impossible but crazily expensive. Why did empires collapse all over the world, historically, not only the Soviet Union but Austria-Hungary and all the rest? Empire is expensive. Russia is not a wealthy country. Its entire economy is the size of the economy of Texas. And most of those resources come right out of energy extractions and very fragile economy for a country that large. Today we saw the ruble crater. We saw the Russian stock market crater.”
Remnick then turned his focus to the anti-war protests which began shortly after the Russian military began its illegal incursion into Ukraine:
“We also saw something very curious, and I have to say maybe even unexpected. Despite the continuing crackdown on dissent in Russia that’s been going on for years, we saw protests of modest scale in dozens of Russian cities. And over — according to one report over 1,500 arrests, brutal arrests and so on. So to see politics on the street is, I think, startling to Vladimir Putin as what he dreads the most, what he fears the most is some kind of uprising against him. And so we — we’re coming to a reckoning here where internal Russian politics are concerned, too.”
All of this, Remnick concluded, suggests that Putin may not know exactly how he can extricate himself from the precarious position he has created for his country, which could lead to his downfall:
“The question here that has to be at the center is, what does Vladimir Putin think he’s doing? Toward what end? How, in any way, does this help bring prosperity or even security to Russia? What threat is he responding to? Was Ukraine threatening Russia? Was NATO threatening Russia? No. I think that Putin, in large measure — not to make this into a novel — but in large measure, is responding to his own self-drama as a man of great power and wanting to expand Russian power, revive Russian power, after his failure to bring prosperity to Russia after 22 years in power.”
That last line is especially telling when it comes to Putin: He has failed to bring prosperity to Russia after 22 years in power. So now he thinks he can make up for that failure by invading his neighbors and threatening the NATO alliance. Sounds like a scenario that ends with Vladimir in a bunker under the Kremlin, gun in one hand and a dose of cyanide in the other. Here’s hoping that scenario plays out soon.
Even though Russian President/mass murderer Vladimir Putin is on the verge of attacking Ukraine and potentially killing thousands of innocent people, so-called “Christian” Franklin Graham wants other “Christians” to pray for the Russian despot.
Graham announced his call for prayers for Putin on Twitter:
“Pray for President Putin today. This may sound like a strange request, but we need to pray that God would work in his heart so that war could be avoided at all cost. May God give wisdom to the leaders involved in these talks & negotiations, as well as those advising them.”
Are Samaritan’s Purse and Billy Graham Evangelistic Association tax exempt? Because they shouldn’t be! pic.twitter.com/P9lOVEk3Xn
Be sure and notice how Graham conveniently neglected to suggest that we pray for our president, Joe Biden. As Americans, shouldn’t that be our first priority if we’re going to pray for anyone?
How about the people of Ukraine? Don’t they deserve and need our prayers now more than ever? After all, they’re facing the prospect of over 150,00 heavily armed Russian troops marching into their country.
Of course, no one should be surprised by Graham’s devotion to Putin. He’s visited Russia and had a private meeting with him:
Franklin Graham pursued his connections to Russia in person in November 2015, when he flew to Russia for a speaking tour of several churches. There he met with with dignitaries including Kirill. He also echoed Hilarion’s distaste for sanctions during an interview with Russian television, saying, “I’ve never been a supporter of sanctions.”
Before he left Moscow, Graham had an unexpected 45-minute meeting with Putin, during which Putin reportedly agreed to assist with the proposed summit on persecuted Christians in Moscow, the event that Torshin later offered as an opportunity for Trump to meet Putin.
So who exactly does Franklin Graham owe his deepest loyalties to? Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, or the Almighty Dollar? Because he certainly isn’t acting in a very Christlike manner.
Lots of Twitter users were deeply offended by Graham’s call to pray for a man who has his political enemies shot, poisoned with polonium, or confined to a gulag.
Excuse me? We’re not buying what you’re selling Frankie. We’re ‘praying’ for the Ukrainian people. Not Putin. And, yes, it’s a real strange request. Just not a surprising one.
I was baptized by your father in Hartford, CT. You are not your father's son. Anyone who asks for prayers for the devil should be shunned by good people everywhere. pic.twitter.com/cPWPjqtRNy
— Vera, When will “Never Again” mean “Never Again X (@prayerfeathers) February 19, 2022
During a debate in the Senate on the lifting of sanctions on a pipeline, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) accused Democrats of “appeasing” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Cotton took broad aim at how the Democrats had handled Moscow in criticism, referring in particular to the Biden administration’s suspension of sanctions on entities involved with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Critics, including both Republicans and Democrats, say that the pipeline, which will take gas between Russia and Germany, gives Putin a geopolitical advantage. The pipeline was stalled by German lawmakers this week.
That led Cotton to remark:
“The simplest way to deter invasion of Ukraine, the simplest way to deter Russian aggression, is to draw clear red lines of enforcement, something that Joe Biden will not do, something that apparently the Democratic senators will not force him to do.”
In response, New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen immediately fired back at Cotton, reminding him that he’d been allowed to visit Russia while the Russian government refused to grant her entry:
“I just have to take real umbrage at your suggestion, Sen. Cotton. I’m the one who Vladimir Putin refused a visa to get into Russia, because of my opposition to Russia, and to what Putin was doing.”
She then added:
“He didn’t deny you a visa to get into the country. So don’t talk to me about how I’ve not been tough enough on Russia, because that dog won’t hunt!”
My gracious Jeanne Shaheen just handed Tom Cotton his own posterior on the Senate floor.pic.twitter.com/sPkPpSpbiR
Keep in mind this is the same Tom Cotton who refused to impeach failed, one-term former President Donald Trump for extorting our Ukrainian allies unless they agree to help him trash President Joe Biden. He delayed military aid to them at a time when Ukraine was being harassed and threatened with attack by Putin’s military.
Do us all a favor, Sen. Cotton: Sit down and shut the hell up.