... is author of three books: Deception, on Russia-West espionage, The New Cold War, on Putin’s Russia and the threat it poses to the West, and The Snowden Operation... ... non-resident fellow at the Washington think-tank CEPA.
Assessing the consequences of the Ukraine crisis for the wider world, commentators’ concerns are manifold. National... ... level of high politics as well as in the expert discourse, in Russia as well as in the European Union. How do you assess this initiative in light of the Ukraine crisis?
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In Eastern Ukraine, we are seeing an ingenious Russian plot unfold — for the second time. Russian servicemen, wearing no insignia, ... ... part of Eastern Ukraine by Russia would be a disaster. But federalisation could be no less: if such a federation is as loose as Putin wants it to be, and a number of regions are controlled by Russian puppets, it will not only amount to the ‘finlandisation’ ...
Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea has enraged the West. His lack of openness to any compromise has forced it to launch a — ... ... huge rise in Putin’s popularity — much like the last time in Georgia. He now has the recipe.
But the situation in Ukraine is bound to escalate. It will not come to a Cold War — but it looks like Putin is dead set on testing the limits....
Having invaded Crimea, set up a puppet government and organised a sham referendum, now Vladimir Putin will have to facilitate the region’s accession to Russia. There is little doubt this is going to happen swiftly. Any ... ... — thanks to the lies seen on television —overwhelmingly believe that Putin is fighting to save Russian-speakers in Ukraine, put in real danger by the ‘fascists in Kiev’. The accession has, of course, been planned by the Kremlin — ...