Compulsive liar and his Useful Idiot or Emulator?
It was supposed to be very quick, so that calling it a special military operation would have been an accurate title with which Putin could have glossed over the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine. Ever since it began on February 24, 2022, there have been counteroffensives, moving the frontline very slightly in what is effectively a stalemate. In the meantime, Russian president Vladimir Putin became a pariah with an arrest warrant issued for him by the International Criminal Court. This was specifically for unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas to Russia itself. In addition to the general atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces, this was an element of support provided to Ukraine to defend itself and isolate Putin. Economic sanctions against Russia have left it economically weaker, which makes no difference to the aim of reconstructing the former empire,...