The problem is that the West still does not understand what the cost of war means to Putin.
For Putin, it is not measured in money.
Nor is it measured in soldiers’ lives.
Putin is convinced that he has enough of both. He doesn’t care about soldiers’ lives at all.
For Putin, the cost of war is measured EXCLUSIVELY in territories.
He’s not just an imperialist — he’s an archaic imperialist who thinks in terms of the size of the empire.
If the number of territories under Russia’s control increases, then — in Putin’s view — the war is going well.
And that’s why Putin is prepared to wage war for a long time.
Time, resources, people — none of that matters.
As long as he’s able to seize more land, the war is justified in his eyes, and he will continue it.
Therefore, the ONLY way to make the cost of war unacceptable for Putin is to start depriving him of territory.
In simpler terms, Ukraine’s Armed Forces must be given the resources they need to reclaim substantial parts of the land occupied by Russia.
Only this will force Putin to agree to end the war.
But the West doesn’t understand this.
Biden didn’t understand it, Trump doesn’t understand it, and neither do the leaders of many European countries.
Tags: Analytics Putin Russia russia ukraine war Ukraine Vladimir Putin war
