by Anon, February 9, 2024
- Putin believes that Ukraine is historically part of Russia and its independent existence is only tolerable if the country is firmly in Russia’s sphere of influence.
- He believes the CIA engineered a coup that overthrew the legitimate government of Ukraine and replaced it with a western puppet regime in 2014.
- He believes the modern nationalist Ukrainian state draws from the legacy of Nazi collaboration during WWII and poses a direct threat to Russian national security. Removing this particular nationalist influence is a key goal of the military operation, which he seeks to achieve through negotiation.
- Russia expressed interest in joining NATO during the Clinton administration but was rejected. This led Russia to feel geopolitically isolated and cut off from the whole western project.
- He believes the west is obsessed with weakening Russia as much as possible and that NATO is nothing more than an anti-Russian alliance.
- Putin thinks China is now more powerful than the United States and more relevant.
- He believes our government is controlled by an entrenched bureaucracy that cannot be changed through elections.
- He believes the US and European Union are extorting taxpayers to fund Ukraine’s war. He sees no reason why the US continues to support Ukraine.