strongholds of rebels and no consequences. after annexation of crimea it was clear putin would not stop with the annexation because he never accepted ukraine as an independent state. of course, we can talk about trump, and recently he confirmed our worst expectations about his presidency by calling putin's decision to recognize so-called break away regions in this so-called genius move. it is not just about trump. i would say it is about the ebenezer of the free world and the unwillingness of western leaders to take putin seriously and to recognize that this man, this man meant business. nobody wanted to believe him. you know, he started his presidency with bloody war in chechnya more than 20 years ago. it is more than two decades of