By now, we have all seen the attack on the maternity hospital in Ukraine. Three civilians dead… including a child. Shameful. No other word for it except, maybe, criminal.
High level peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have just ended. Not much progress. The New York Times is reporting that Ukraine’s foreign minister said, “We did not make progress in reaching a cease-fire, but agreed to continue efforts to seek a solution to the humanitarian issues on the ground.”
Dmytro Kuleba went on to say, “I will be ready to meet again in this format if there are prospects for a substantial discussion and for seeking solutions.”
That’s where we are. Little diplomatic progress in a war that looks like it’s going to drag on.
Vladimir Putin continues his relentless attacks. The Ukrainian people continue to stand strong.
Putin wasn’t prepared for this. He thought this was going to be easy. It is anything but easy.
What’s scary is what Putin might do next. Some experts fear he might resort to chemical and biological weapons.
What’s the end game here? Fox News reports that an old Soviet flag was spotted on a Russian tank making its way through Ukraine. That reinforces the speculation that Vladimir Putin’s goal is to reassemble the old Soviet Union.
He may try, but he’s got his hands full right now. Ukraine is fighting back. The world is fighting back.
It won’t end well for Vladimir Putin. Sanctions are going to hurt the Russian people. They will only put up being without their McDonald’s and Starbucks for so long.
Robert Service is a leading Russia historian. He tells the Wall Street Journal that Putin will “win the war, but lose the peace and fail to subjugate Ukraine.”
How to stop Putin? Service says a palace coup is unlikely, but more plausible as this drags on.
The other option is a mass uprising. The Russians know how to do that. It’s in their past.
Getting rid of Putin won’t be easy. Russia has dumped its leaders before though. A Crimean vacation, they call it.