February 22, 2022
DON'T LET HIM OFF THE HOOK:
Madness Or Method? Why Putin Recognized The Russia-Backed Separatists In Ukraine (Steve Gutterman, 2/21/22, RFE)
[A]t least for now, Putin may have seen recognition as a way to extract something he can claim as a win while avoiding two extremes -- a massive new invasion and the bloodshed that would ensue, on the one hand, and the appearance of a climbdown in the face of Ukrainian and Western resolve on the other.
Posted by Orrin Judd at February 22, 2022 12:00 AM