Нынешняя эскалация была ожидаема после унизительного поражения в Харьковской области. Если бы сейчас Путин не возглавил партию войны, он рисковал стать для неё совсем бесполезным. Написал об этом для The Russia File. www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-po…ill-fail Пара фрагментов: What made Putin attractive to the Russians was his cult of force. He promised to make Russia great again, to rebalance the system of international relations to Russia's advantage, and to regain dominance over Russian speaking territories. Failure to achieve these goals in Ukraine means that Putin was not as strong as advertised. Putin's legitimacy rests on strength, like the power of the leader of a wolf pack. The leader cannot betray weakness. In Rudyard Kipling's TheJungle Book, a tale that is familiar to most Russians, a leader who misses his prey is considered finished. The phrase “Akela has missed” is often repeated in Russian political discourse. The war with Ukraine should become an all-Russian affair. This would require convincing people that it is a just war that is being fought for Russia’s survival. Kremlin propaganda must persuade the Russians that the very existence of an independent Ukraine is an existential threat to Russia. So far, the Russians are not convinced. For many years, the existence of Ukraine next to Russia has not interfered with their own lives in any way. Convincing them that Ukraine and Western countries have now become an existential threat to Russia would be helped by a large-scale transfer of hostilities to Russian territory.