but there s something more fundamental. ukraine as a successful experiment invalidates putin s view of managed democracy. basically, this idea that he could that everything is under centralized control, and with limited curtailed freedoms for the population. if ukraine is able to be successful, if ukraine is prosperous, and it s made some headway, significant headway since 2014, which is why we see ourselves in this situation right now. with a major escalation looming in the next couple weeks and months. if ukraine is successful, it basically proves his alternative view of managed democracy to be false. and on those two reasons are the driving force. that s why some of the conversation going on around security assurances that nato could offer, i see those as red herrings. i see those as negotiating tactics, trying to draw out compromises, trying to test the resolve of the u.s. and nato, but really, it s a question of whether he can keep ukraine in russia s orbit. he lost it in 2014.
the first time. he s also the author of here, right matters, an american story. why is ukraine so important to putin. that s my question, colonel vindman. i want to know why is there such a fascination on the part of vladimir putin with ukraine. well, there s many different reasons. the first one is ukraine is central to russia s conception of itself as a great power. it believes ukraine is its right by history, and only as a freak of history with the collapse of the soviet union did the worst case unfold. russia losing ukraine. the heart of the empire. so that s part of the story. but there s something more fundamental. ukraine as a successful experiment invalidates putin s view of managed democracy. basically, this idea that he could that everything is