Anonymous
7/7/2025, 7:58:37 PM
No.936773340
>>936773306
Mr. Putin’s relations with the West have been less cordial. Obsessed with the supposed failures of the 1990s, he sought to block NATO expansion categorically instead of negotiating a reasonable set of demands about bases, the stationing of troops and missile deployment. Having failed to achieve a working relationship with NATO, Mr. Putin let his fears of Ukrainian independence metastasize. This led in 2014 to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and incursion into eastern Ukraine. Eight years later, his zeal for dominion over Ukraine exploded into a terrible war, provoking the most severe break with the West in Russia’s modern history.
But it’s wrong to say Mr. Putin aimed to sunder Russia’s relations with the West. He wanted to reorient them in his favor, reclaiming a role in European affairs by weakening the West. Had Russia quickly won its war in 2022, he might have got what he wanted. Russia might have claimed a place in Eastern Europe. A chastened West might have bowed to Russian prowess, winding back the NATO alliance. Panicked neighboring countries might have broken away from NATO or the European Union, currying Moscow’s favor. The trans-Atlantic relationship, bedrock of the West, might have cracked.
None of that has come to pass. Instead, Mr. Putin has done something far worse for his country than initiating an unwon and unwinnable war: He has compelled Europe to organize itself as a military counterweight to Russia. Germany is rapidly rearming; new patterns of military consultation and cooperation are spreading across Europe; Finland and Sweden have joined NATO; and Brexit has been sidelined by a meaningful security agreement between Britain and the European Union. Formidable resources are being gathered to keep Russia out of Europe. Russia’s only path to a future partnership with Europe is to end the war on Ukrainian terms, which Mr. Putin will not do.
Mr. Putin’s relations with the West have been less cordial. Obsessed with the supposed failures of the 1990s, he sought to block NATO expansion categorically instead of negotiating a reasonable set of demands about bases, the stationing of troops and missile deployment. Having failed to achieve a working relationship with NATO, Mr. Putin let his fears of Ukrainian independence metastasize. This led in 2014 to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and incursion into eastern Ukraine. Eight years later, his zeal for dominion over Ukraine exploded into a terrible war, provoking the most severe break with the West in Russia’s modern history.
But it’s wrong to say Mr. Putin aimed to sunder Russia’s relations with the West. He wanted to reorient them in his favor, reclaiming a role in European affairs by weakening the West. Had Russia quickly won its war in 2022, he might have got what he wanted. Russia might have claimed a place in Eastern Europe. A chastened West might have bowed to Russian prowess, winding back the NATO alliance. Panicked neighboring countries might have broken away from NATO or the European Union, currying Moscow’s favor. The trans-Atlantic relationship, bedrock of the West, might have cracked.
None of that has come to pass. Instead, Mr. Putin has done something far worse for his country than initiating an unwon and unwinnable war: He has compelled Europe to organize itself as a military counterweight to Russia. Germany is rapidly rearming; new patterns of military consultation and cooperation are spreading across Europe; Finland and Sweden have joined NATO; and Brexit has been sidelined by a meaningful security agreement between Britain and the European Union. Formidable resources are being gathered to keep Russia out of Europe. Russia’s only path to a future partnership with Europe is to end the war on Ukrainian terms, which Mr. Putin will not do.