Putin Is Actually Accomplishing The Exact Opposite Of What He Wants

Look, let’s step back from the Ukraine war for a moment, and look at what may be a root cause. One way or another Putin has been in power for more than 20 years now. Even when the Russian constitution forced him to give Medvedev the keys for a while, he was in the second spot, and everybody knew who was issuing the marching orders.

Putin has described the dissolution of the USSR as the greatest tragedy of the 20th century. And every step he has taken has been to try to restore it to its former glory. But the cards haven’t always been kind.

For starters, before Putin even took full control, the Baltic Republics of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania ran like a clutter of kittens to NATO to request membership, where they were accepted with open arms. This deprived Putin and Russia of a huge swath of seacoast and ports that Putin coveted.

But he also had his successes. He installed a friendly government in Kazakhstan, protecting his southern flank, and also providing him with a convenient jumping off point for a future aggression. And he also installed a puppet government in Belarus, once again protecting his flank, and providing another convenient jumping off point. Note the Russian forces in Belarus that crossed the border into Ukraine. And he used a combination of threats and bribery to keep countries like Hungary and Romania from becoming too much NATO countries.

But Putin’s crown jewel has always been the Ukraine. Putin has never accepted Ukraine as a free and independent, finding them ethnically and historically one with Russia. He has used outside political interference, corruption, and even a Putin friendly government to try to bring them back into the fold. And failed. His puppet had to do a Formula 1 run to Moscow when the population revolted. And so Putin engineered a crisis in Crimea to fortify his position, and weaken the Ukrainian government.

And now Putin has boned the bow-wow. One of his stated reasons for invading the Ukraine was to keep Ukraine from becoming a NATO puppet. There are only two problems with this. One, Ukraine hasn’t even requested to join NATO. And two, Ukraine isn’t even qualified to join NATO, not until they get their government corruption cleaned up. Putin went to war to stop something that wasn’t even in the cards.

But here’s the McGuffin. Putin’s whole agenda all along has been to reunite the breakaway republics in order to provide a buffer against western aggression to Russia itself. But in the wake of his invasion of Ukraine, MSNBC has reported that in the last 72 hours, the governments of Norway and Sweden have engaged in official conversations amongst themselves as to the wisdom of applying for membership in NATO. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine may actually be driving neutral European countries to seek NATO protection.

But here’s a Sunday twofer for ya. CNN is reporting that the governments of Norway and Denmark are now also starting unofficial internal discussions on the wisdom and benefits of joining NATO. Putin’s irrational action against the Ukraine has reminded other, independent European countries of just how vulnerable they are to Russian aggression. And they’re thinking of joining NATO.

But here’s your Sunday thigh slapper. When the news broke that Finland and Sweden were considering joining NATO, Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov responded by saying that any attempt to join NATO would be met with strong reciprocal measures. What. The Fuck? The last time that Stalin tried to invade Finland in WWII, their vaunted ski infantry shredded the Russians, and pushed them back beyond their own border again. And as they make that threat, the Russian military hasn’t taken a single major Ukrainian city, and can’t even seem to hold a sizeable portion of the countryside. What kind of a threat is that?

Putin’s goal was to insulate the Russian land mass from a western invasion. But instead he is driving even more neutral European countries to join NATO, and isolate Russia even further, protecting Europe instead. My personal feelings are that Putin will be deposed. But even when he’s gone, this debacle will make it almost impossible for Russia to be a serious threat to western Europe again. Stand up and take a bow, fool.