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February 13, 2024From Ukraine to the USA, the situation is developing in a way that benefits Putin.
This is reported by Business Insider.
Support for Ukraine is weakening. And the attacks by Western politicians on Carlson only provided the Russian leader with an even broader audience and served as evidence that the interview was successful.
- The position of Russian President Vladimir Putin has strengthened. It hasn’t been like this for many months.
- From Ukraine to the USA, the situation is developing in a way that benefits Putin.
- Analysts believe that Putin is counting on weakening Western support for Ukraine. And that’s exactly what’s happening now.
Analysts say that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strategy has long been to wait for the West’s resolve to weaken, and then, through persistent efforts, to achieve victory in Ukraine.
Last year there were moments when such a course seemed like a grave mistake. The Russian leader faced a direct and most serious challenge in two decades when the Wagner PMC began to rebel. And his military struggled to contain Ukraine’s Western-backed counteroffensive.
But in the second month of 2024, the situation looks very different. From Ukraine to the USA, it is developing in a way that benefits Putin. Ukrainian armed forces are currently engaged in defensive actions, defending themselves against escalating Russian attacks, and they are running out of ammunition. And Republicans in the House of Representatives have blocked further American aid.
On other fronts, the symbiosis formed by Putin with extreme-right Republicans is bearing fruit. Last week, Tucker Carlson interviewed Putin. He hardly objected when the Russian leader launched into a two-hour lecture, expounding dubious historical theories that underpinned his special military operation in Ukraine.
Putin had the opportunity to address directly the voters of the Grand Old Party, who form the base of opposition to American aid to Ukraine. He further fueled their skepticism.
This interview caused a real furor. Western leaders and analysts, in unison and to an equal extent, attacked Putin and Carlson, but this only expanded the Russian leader’s audience.
Subsequently, the Kremlin called NATO’s outraged reaction evidence that the interview was successful. And on Friday, there was more good news for Putin when the special prosecutor’s investigation cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s mental faculties. Biden is a staunch ally of Ukraine in its struggle against Russia, and analysts say Putin will surely be delighted by his defeat.
Biden’s rival in the 2024 elections, Donald Trump, surely pleased Putin even more with his remarks made on Saturday at a rally in South Carolina. He horrified the White House and many Europeans by saying that he would allow Russia to attack any NATO member at its discretion if they didn’t contribute to the common fund.
His comments struck at the core of the strength and power of the North Atlantic Alliance, which is the provision that an attack on one NATO country is considered an attack on all and will provoke their collective wrath, especially that of the USA.
Trump’s contempt for NATO is nothing new. But the armed conflict in Ukraine is happening right on the alliance’s doorstep, so his recent comments are causing particular concern.
But Putin has plenty of very serious problems. According to opinion polls, the majority of Americans and Europeans still support funding for Ukraine, which is fighting for its independence. And American lawmakers continue their efforts to approve additional funding. A new version of the Ukraine Aid Bill passed the Senate on Sunday. A vote in the House of Representatives will follow shortly.
Ukraine continues to resist advancing Russian forces, which are facing problems with logistical support. And inept Russian commanders are hindering their progress.
Biden could very well defeat Trump for the second time in November, thereby weakening the internal threat to NATO’s unity. And Russia itself has suffered greatly. Millions of people have left the country, and its economy is taking blow after blow.
But the events of the past week could strengthen Putin’s confidence that ultimately things are developing in the direction he wants.