Friday, 11 Jul 2025
America Age
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Font ResizerAa
America AgeAmerica Age
Search
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
America Age > Blog > World > Putin’s brutality in Ukraine can get worse. Get ready for a chilly winter
World

Putin’s brutality in Ukraine can get worse. Get ready for a chilly winter

Enspirers | Editorial Board
Share
Putin’s brutality in Ukraine can get worse. Get ready for a chilly winter
SHARE
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks to Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (Sergei Bobylev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. (Sergei Bobylev / Associated Press)

Russia’s imperious president, Vladimir Putin, may have just endured his worst week since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which he says was the greatest tragedy of the 20th century.

His vaunted army, including a tank force once considered one of Russia’s best, collapsed in the face of a Ukrainian offensive in eastern Ukraine. Some Russian soldiers fled after ditching their uniforms and donning civilian clothes they stole from homes, according to local residents.

In southern Ukraine, Russian units defending the strategic city of Kherson struggled to hold their positions against persistent Ukrainian attacks.

Putin even faced what sounded like tough questioning from his most important ally, China’s President Xi Jinping.

“We understand your questions and concerns” about Ukraine, he told Xi at a summit meeting in the central Asian city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

When Putin ordered his army to invade Ukraine in February, he saw a historic opportunity to reassemble the core of the Soviet Union and appeared to anticipate a rapid victory.

That plan failed when Ukraine, bolstered by Western military aid and U.S. intelligence, halted Russia’s attempt to seize its capital, Kyiv.

Now Putin’s Plan B, the conquest of eastern and southern Ukraine, is teetering on the edge of failure as well.

Some cheerleaders have hailed Ukraine’s victory at Izyum, an important railway junction in the east, as the turning point of the war. That’s premature. Russia holds about one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory and has more troops it can deploy, although their quality is uncertain.

“Despite the euphoria, this ain’t over yet,” Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, told me last week. “Putin is obviously furious that his commanders have failed … but that doesn’t mean he’ll give up. He can still escalate in many ways.”

So what can we expect from Putin now? Vershbow offered a forecast.

Putin won’t capitulate; that would mean the end of his rule.

He likely will intensify the death and destruction Russia has inflicted on Ukraine’s civilians.

Putin’s career has been marked by success in wars waged against weaker opponents. He came to power in 1999 by ordering a midwinter siege of Grozny, capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, in a savage war to suppress Muslim separatists. In 2008, he sent the army into neighboring Georgia; in 2014, he sent troops into eastern Ukraine and annexed the Crimean peninsula.

In those wars, his forces often inflicted casualties on civilians as a deliberate tactic.

His approach in Ukraine has fit the same pattern. It just hasn’t worked as well against a well-led, well-trained and well-equipped opponent.

“We’re going to see a further escalation of brutality,” Vershbow said. “They’ve already launched heavy bombing of civilian infrastructure. … Some [Russian] officials say they want to drive millions of Ukrainians out of the country.”

Putin’s goal, he said, is to “turn this back into a war of attrition … and hope that over time, war weariness drives the Ukrainians to quit.”

To accomplish that, some of Putin’s hawkish supporters have demanded a full mobilization, meaning a draft to replenish the army and a formal declaration of war.

But Putin aides have said conscription is not being considered.

The government has continued to reassure Russians that this is a limited “special military operation” and has even prohibited describing it as a “war.”

“He’s still desperately trying to avoid mass mobilization,” Vershbow said. “A draft would send protesters into the streets in Moscow. Even then, it takes months and months to train new troops.”

Michael Kofman, a Russia expert at CNA, a defense think tank, suggested that Putin might opt for a “partial mobilization,” extending current soldiers’ enlistment contracts and drafting recent veterans with needed skills.

“Partial mobilization is possible, but they may be lousy troops,” Vershbow said.

As for nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, most military and foreign policy experts say Putin is unlikely to use them unless his survival is directly at stake.

“The problem with most of the escalatory options, up to and including nukes, is that they may simply unify Europe, cast Putin himself as a Hitlerian monster and accelerate Western weapons supplies to Ukraine,” said Stephen Sestanovich, a former National Security Council official now at Columbia University.

Putin’s other hope is to win the war not on the battlefield but in Western Europe, where Moscow has cut the supply of natural gas to squeeze Germany and other consuming countries that have sent weapons to Ukraine.

So far, the energy war has had surprisingly little effect. One recent poll found that 70% of Germans support continued aid to Ukraine, despite climbing gas prices. In the United States, the Gallup Poll found a similar level of support, 76%.

The real test, however, will come this winter, when the need for gas to heat homes will spike.

On both fronts, Putin hopes that inflicting pain on noncombatants can bring him victory. He believes Russians are better fighters than Ukrainians and more resilient in winter than Europeans or Americans. The challenge for the West is to prove him wrong.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article EU Recommends Freezing Funds for Hungary Over Graft Concerns EU Recommends Freezing Funds for Hungary Over Graft Concerns
Next Article Ukraine Latest: Kherson Hits; UK Says Russia Targeting Civilians Ukraine Latest: Kherson Hits; UK Says Russia Targeting Civilians

Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!

Our commitment to accuracy, impartiality, and delivering breaking news as it happens has earned us the trust of a vast audience. Stay ahead with real-time updates on the latest events, trends.
FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
LinkedInFollow
MediumFollow
QuoraFollow
- Advertisement -
Ad image

Popular Posts

Xi Jinping to Attend APEC Summit, Thai Foreign Minister Says

Reuters VideosChina factory, services activity hit by COVID curbsSTORY: China's factory activity shrank unexpectedly in…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Florence + the Machine’s Florence Welch Postpones U.K. Tour After Breaking Foot: ‘I’m in Pain’

Florence WelchDavid M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Florence WelchFlorence Welch is postponing her band's U.K. tour for…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Dubai court finds mishandled peroxide caused 2021 port blast

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Dubai court has found that a cargo ship's…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya Star in First Trailer for Jordan Peele’s New Horror Movie Nope

Jordan Peele is back in the saddle.The first trailer for his upcoming horror movie Nope…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

You Might Also Like

Barnaby Joyce vows to wind again ‘lunatic crusade’ of web zero with non-public member’s invoice
World

Barnaby Joyce vows to wind again ‘lunatic crusade’ of web zero with non-public member’s invoice

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Unite votes to droop Angela Rayner membership over Birmingham bin strikes
World

Unite votes to droop Angela Rayner membership over Birmingham bin strikes

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Trump heads to Texas every week after devastating floods – US politics dwell
World

Trump heads to Texas every week after devastating floods – US politics dwell

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
5 reported useless in Gaza after Israeli strike on faculty sheltering displaced individuals – Center East disaster dwell
World

5 reported useless in Gaza after Israeli strike on faculty sheltering displaced individuals – Center East disaster dwell

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
America Age
Facebook Twitter Youtube

About US


America Age: Your instant connection to breaking stories and live updates. Stay informed with our real-time coverage across politics, tech, entertainment, and more. Your reliable source for 24/7 news.

Company
  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • WP Creative Group
  • Accessibility Statement
Contact Us
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability
Terms of Use
  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?