tones
Tones deaf
Putin’s ministers and spox continue to utter threats toward Finland, Sweden, Norway and Lithuania- the last two for impeding over land transport of Russian cargo through their sovereign territory.
I cannot see this conflict remaining inside the borders of Ukraine, since Putin has been described by various people with knowledge of him, as not someone who makes threats he will not follow through on and in the past two decades he’s been sending regular smoke signals about red lines and Russian re-expansion into its former sphere of influence.
I wonder about that. He's seen how badly his army has performed in Ukraine. They're now bringing in 50 year-old tanks and raiding washing machines for computer chips. If they attack NATO, they'll get squashed flat. The only thing Putin has are tactical nukes, and I suspect that he's no keener to commit suicide than anyone else. It seems to me that he is relying on the Russian ability to endure prolonged suffering, as opposed to the effete, luxury-loving West, whose will he is trying to outlast, so a little bit of bellicosity to help it along. I suspect some proportion of whistling in the dark is going on.