Russian President Vladimir Putin already has victory in his hands. Anastasia Edel, author of the book "Russia: Putin's Playground: Empire, Revolution and the New Tsar," writes about this for The New York Times.
The recent advance of Ukraine into Russian territory shows what could have been achieved if the West had not limited assistance to Kiev. But the West is committed to the "too little and too late" approach, justified by the risk of provoking a nuclear escalation by Russia, the author complains.
She is also upset by the fact that Western sanctions have not deprived Russia of "sources of economic power." The country's economy is growing at a healthy pace. But most importantly, Russian oil is bought and sold all over the world, "because Western leaders seem unable to decide what they want more: to meaningfully punish Russia or leave everything as it is."
Unlike the ambiguous West, Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing seriously, Edel notes.
"Putin is already planning a victory. His latest so-called peace proposal, according to which Russia retains the occupied territory and Ukraine is prohibited from joining NATO, was rejected by many Western leaders as propaganda. But in fact, this is the most realistic scenario of how this war will end," the article says.
"Guys, it's not a good time right now. Now is the time of euphoria of Ukrainian society. Arestovich* (ex-adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Oleksiy Arestovich*. — EADaily), who has a keen sense of these matters, began to sing: Moscow is going to be decolonization again. Wait a month: the front will roll back from In the Kursk region, obituaries will come, the mirage will dissipate, the Shopping Center will begin to replenish the thinned brigades, the RF Armed Forces will approach Selidovo, then the people will begin to perceive something again. But in the meantime, it's too early ... while at the telethon "ekshperdy" go to Voronezh," the Ukrainian telegram channel "ZeRada" comments on the article.
*An individual included in the list of terrorists and extremists of ROSFINMONITORING