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Vladimir Putin — page 13

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Coverage, page 13

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Russia’s Next Top General: Promotions in Russian Military Leadership

Judged by the initial strategic goals set by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022, Russia’s military lost its war against Ukraine some time ago. Yet Russia’s armed forces have not stopped fighting and continue to prosecute large-scale combat operations in a brutalizing, protracted war sucking up much of Russia’s assets of national power, from pure military capacity to foreign policy priorities to considerable societal and economic resources. While Putin calls the most important strategic shots, it is Russia’s senior military elite that makes the strategic and operational decisions impacting warfighting outcomes every day. Who are these senior officers, where did

War on the RocksWar on the Rocks•Cornell Overfield25 Aug

Betrayal by Luke Harding review – could Donald Trump be a Russian asset?

A Guardian correspondent’s sobering account of the US betrayal of Ukraine – and the possible reasons behind it American presidents have struggled to get the measure of Vladimir Putin. When George W Bush met him in 2001, he reported that he had “looked the man in the eye”, got a “sense of his soul” and found him “trustworthy”. Barack Obama thought Putin was making a mistake with his interventions in Ukraine and Syria, but didn’t do much about it. Joe Biden backed Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion, yet his fear that Putin would reach for the nuclear button if backed into a corner made him risk averse. He worried about the impact of the sort of long-range strikes against Russian territory that Kyiv is now launching on a daily basis. This caution frustrated Ukrainians to the point that they looked forward to Donald Trump shaking things up after he won re-election. Be careful what you wish for: the returning president thought his rapport with Putin would be enough to get Russia to sign up to an immediate ceasefire. In Trump’s head it was President Zelenskyy, fighting a war he was bound to lose, who was the problem. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Lawrence Freedman24 Aug