Vladimir Putin, if nothing else, is a pragmatic opportunist. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia’s goal has been to rebuild what it had lost. During my time in the Baltics, Ukraine and other sovereign nations that had been dominated by Russia, I was told by senior officials that those countries had one common objective: to have allies to support them in the event that Russia improved its economy and military to carry out its reunification objective.
Just before all hell broke loose in Ukraine, Russia was striving to once again become a world-class military superpower…
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