Authoritarian populists like Vladimir Putin know that when fellow anti-democrats start calling them “my friend” the writing may be on the wall. No wonder the Russian president shifted in his seat and tapped his feet impatiently while his erstwhile buddy, the OG populist and Hindu nationalist, Narendra Modi gave him a mini-lecture - in public - on how he’s got to end his war against Ukraine. Coming a week after a sudden mission to Moscow by CIA director John Ratcliffe, and amid reports that the White House may soon be sending special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Kyiv for their first visit, it looks like Putin’s buddies are ganging up against him.
Based on what has come before, it seems unlikely they’re doing this for Ukraine, democracy, or even “humanity” - but rather to save their little cabal. Putin is on the back foot. Almost 40 per cent of the economy of the Russian Federation is dedicated to the war effort, but that effort is proving fruitless.
Its harvest is only death - more than 30,000 Russian soldiers are being cut down every month for microscopic gains that ebb and flow on a tide of blood. Russian capital is being yanked out of banks. Ukrainian deep strikes against the fuel infrastructure across Russia is causing long queues at gas stations while white Russians, who rule the federation, are sending the different ethnicities from Russia’s eastern empire into the Donbas meat grinder.
That is why he has been threatening Europe and the United Kingdom. But his weakness is covered by the fig leaf of threat. But that fig leaf may not be just show.
Ratcliffe is understood to have told his fellow spymasters in Moscow to back off from any plans to nip at Nato, via military incursions and hybrid attacks, as a way of easing the pressure in Ukraine. "Every day that the war continues, humanity is, in effect, set back a step, whilst every step towards peace gives all of humanity real hope for peace. We need to move from endless war to an end to the war, to a cessation of hostilities," Modi told Putin.
India’s prime minister has maintained a strict “need for peace” agenda when it comes to Russia's war against Ukraine. He has avoided criticising the Kremlin. And the war in Europe has been great for New Delhi.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
