Putin has put out an impossible list of demands in an effort to almost ensure this conflict. But he is trying to sell the idea that his country is the victim of a plot meant to hinder Russia.
“Their main task is to contain the development of Russia. Ukraine is simply a tool to achieve this goal. They could draw us into some kind of armed conflict and force their allies in Europe to impose the very tough sanctions that are being talked about in the United States today,” Putin said. “Or they could draw Ukraine into NATO, set up strike weapons systems there and encourage some people to resolve the issue of Donbas or Crimea by force, and still draw us into an armed conflict.”
It was a tacit admission of his fear that if Ukraine were ever to become a member of NATO, Putin would be unable to threaten the former Soviet republic the way it’s doing now, surrounding its neighbor with more than 130,000 troops with the potential to invade and take more Ukrainian territory.”
Press Secretary Jen Psaki commented on Putin’s statement:
“When the fox is screaming from the top of the hen house that he’s scared of the chickens, which is essentially what they’re doing, that fear isn’t reported as a statement of fact,” said press secretary Jen Psaki at yesterday’s White House briefing. “And as you watch President Putin screaming about the fear of Ukraine and the Ukrainians, that should not be reported as a statement of fact. We know who the fox is in this case.”
Putin keeps talking about how Russia is going to be threatened by Ukraine, while he sits his 100k+ army along their border ready to attack if he doesn’t get his way. Looks more like he is upset that he is not going to be able to pull a repeat of 2014 when he stole Crimea away from Ukraine.