Putin’s real intentions
Percy Allan, like all commentators, has read Vladimir’s Putin’s intentions in Ukraine wrong. NATO’s eastward expansion was a useful pretext because it draws attention to American lies about NATO expansion. But, given the expansion already undertaken — eg Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — that buffer had already been lost.
Putin’s nostalgic musing about Russia’s former glory fed into the deception that he wants Ukraine.
America’s coup and breaches of the Minsk agreements, causing the deaths of around 14,000 in ethnically Russian eastern Ukraine, adds to the pretext for war.
At the start of the conflict, Russia made a feint towards Kiev and soon withdrew after reaching an agreement with Ukraine (which was promptly scuppered by Boris Johnson).
Since then, Russia’s concentration has been entirely on eastern Ukraine in order to secure a land route to Crimea which, I believe, was Putin’s intention in the first place.
Russia’s naval base in Crimea is vitally important to its defence and the bridge, as Ukraine has demonstrated, is a very unreliable supply line. A secure way to support Sevastopol is essential to Russian defence and is the main reason for the war.
Prediction: now that Putin’s got a land route he won’t give it up.
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