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12-05-2022, 11:23 AM
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...mir-putin/
Vladimir Putin likes to portray Russia’s existence as an ongoing struggle against a malevolent and expansionist Nato.
Part of the Russian president’s justification for the latest assault on Ukraine was to push Nato further from Russia’s borders.
He has badly miscalculated.
That he convinced himself Western nations would not come to Ukraine’s aid for the simple reason it does not enjoy the protections of Article 5 shows the Alice in Wonderland nature of his perception of geopolitical reality.
Far from abandoning Ukraine or allowing healthy differences of opinion to become fractures between partner nations, the West - and Nato - has stuck by a friend in need.
If that has frustrated Putin, wait until he sees the anticipated next big shift in Europe’s security architecture - courtesy of Sweden and Finland’s likely application for Nato membership.
Vladimir Putin likes to portray Russia’s existence as an ongoing struggle against a malevolent and expansionist Nato.
Part of the Russian president’s justification for the latest assault on Ukraine was to push Nato further from Russia’s borders.
He has badly miscalculated.
That he convinced himself Western nations would not come to Ukraine’s aid for the simple reason it does not enjoy the protections of Article 5 shows the Alice in Wonderland nature of his perception of geopolitical reality.
Far from abandoning Ukraine or allowing healthy differences of opinion to become fractures between partner nations, the West - and Nato - has stuck by a friend in need.
If that has frustrated Putin, wait until he sees the anticipated next big shift in Europe’s security architecture - courtesy of Sweden and Finland’s likely application for Nato membership.
