Before a mercenary army staged an open revolt against his government, Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to be leaning into a long-game strategy of attrition in his war against Ukraine. The events of this past weekend increase the pressure on him to change tactics.
February 24 marks one year since Russia invaded Ukraine and started a war that has led to tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions of civilian refugees. Leigh Sarty, a professor at Carleton University who spent years working in Moscow with Global Affairs Canada, gives us a breakdown of where things currently stand for each side, what he expects might happen next, and why the second year of fighting could be even more brutal than the first.
Does Vladimir Putin realize now that invading Ukraine was a calamitous mistake? Nobody but the Russian president knows for sure but nothing coming out of the Kremlin in recent weeks suggests he's planning to change direction soon.