Putin’s Pushing Inflation (among other things…) & Rotation Takes Time
The Ukraine situation has evolved. Whether sanctions will limit Putin’s ambitions to annexing the Donbas, leaving the rest of Ukraine alone, is yet to be seen. Certainly his hour-long rambling monologue on his take on Ukraine-Russia history makes clear he thinks he – I mean Russia – should control all of Ukraine. And tonight he officially moved into Ukraine, moving the three-quarters of Russia’s army that he had posted on the Ukraine border – in the largest mobilization of troops in Europe since WWII, I might add – supposedly to “enforce the independence” of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. Enforce by bombing, it would seem.
(Separatist groups in those two regions of eastern Ukraine, which have large Russian populations, proclaimed independence from Ukraine in 2014. Russia is the only government in the world to recognize that claim, as there have not been referendums showing majority support.)
No one knows whether Putin has his sights set beyond Donbas. We also don’t know when (now or if Putin moves past the Donbas?) NATO allies might decide to fight. We will probably know more in the morning.
Whatever form it takes, this war will last some time. And while it does, the most
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