Playing with fire

The shooting down of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane by Russian air defenses in Chechnya, killing 38 passengers, highlights Russia’s reckless “shoot first, ask later” military strategy. This callous mindset is mirrored in Vladimir Putin’s ongoing use of hypersonic missiles to target civilian areas, hospitals, schools, and infrastructure in Ukraine. While Putin has effectively lost the war against Ukraine, he has escalated the conflict by enlisting over 10,000 North Korean soldiers and several hundred Yemeni fighters to bolster Russia’s forces. Deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus and planning mercenary operations in Moldova further showcase Putin’s disregard for global stability. His war has devastated Russia’s economy, caused immense suffering, and pushed the world toward economic instability. Alarmingly, Putin signals a willingness to use nuclear weapons to secure a hollow victory in Ukraine. The response now lies with NATO, but Trump’s return complicates matters, given his history of undermining NATO and aligning with Putin’s anti-Western stance.Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 reflects not only his authoritarian ambitions but also his deep-seated fear of democracy and his obsession with maintaining power. His justification-that NATO’s expansion threatens Russia’s security-is both baseless and a diversion. NATO has not posed an existential threat to Russia, and relations have not escalated into conflict since the Cold War era. Putin’s rhetoric of “denazification” is a smokescreen for his real aim: dismantling democratic movements in Ukraine and securing authoritarian control. Since taking power in 2000, Putin has methodically suppressed opposition, silenced dissenting voices, manipulated the media, and propagated nationalist propaganda to maintain his grip on power. He he has sought to restore Russia’s influence through military campaigns in Georgia, Ukraine, Crimea, and Syria. His actions jeopardize global stability and democracy’s future. Putin has weaponized history like few modern leaders, using it to justify Europe’s largest invasion since World War II. His obsession with the Soviet Union’s 1991 collapse, which he labelled “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe,” underscores his resentment of Ukraine’s independence as a symbol of Russia’s lost empire. His genocidal invasion seeks to erase Ukraine’s identity. Left unchecked, Putin’s revisionist narratives could fuel further imperial ambitions. With Trump back in the White House, the Republicans may not follow or continue with the Democratic Party’s costly ‘funding the Ukraine war’. Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has become far and away the top recipient of U.S. foreign aid.of the $175 billion total, other media reports say $200 billion with only $106 billion directly aiding the government of Ukraine. Most of the remainder is funding various U.S. activities associated with the war in Ukraine, and a small portion supports other affected countries in the region. Trump is not going to provide any more fund to Ukraine and that will be the best New Year news for Putin. Instead, Trump has vowed to bring cease fire by exerting pressure on Ukraine that potentially requires Ukraine to cede its occupied territories. While such an agreement may appear to bring temporary calm, it would carry long-term consequences that could embolden Putin’s ambitions to reclaim former Soviet territories. A peace deal on these terms would reward aggression, encouraging further territorial expansion and undermining the principles of sovereignty and self-determination.