That’s Not About Putin

The war will continue as long as he is in power.

Several times I came across statements that the insane demands put forward by Putin to Ukraine are a standard technique of inflating claims on the eve of the start of negotiations, which then allows painless bargaining and winning back. What can I say about this? That’s not about Putin.

This technique is for rational people, concerned not with appearances, but with essences. For those, first of all, they think about achieving a real practical result. Putin is primarily concerned with image considerations. The most important thing for him is not to “bend in”; to demonstrate to everyone that he managed to insist on his own. He is a “macho”, and macho is not inferior.

So now there is no doubt that unless something extraordinary happens, Putin will not budge from his position. He will be afraid that this will be interpreted as “weakness”.

In general, there is now every reason to assert that as long as Putin is in power, the war will continue.

Abbas Gallyamov, Telegram