Vladimir Putin, President of Russia since 1999, came into prominence and power because of his war crimes. As recently as Feb. 7, 2023, he claimed, “Russia has no plans to leave Syria” militarily. For years, he’s assisted his ally in killing and maiming millions of Assad’s dissenters.
Putin illegally annexed Chechnya and Crimea (on Obama’s watch) with an inhumane vengeance. Crimea is now a strategic bastion for his evil ambitions. Now, he’s attempting to illegally annex Georgia and Ukraine. His latest inva- sion of Ukraine was Feb. 2022 (on Biden’s watch). Putin’s goal is to own the countries surrounding the Black Sea. That would increase Russia’s leverage with future trade deals and increase revenue, especially through pipelines. Moscow depends on Mediterranean access for its military operations … not to mention that Putin is eyeing Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Libya and Turkey for his take-over ambitions.
Despite Putin’s build-up, the Black Sea doesn’t favor him. For one, Azerbaijani’s gas pipeline on the Caspian Sea will undercut Russia’s energy trade. For another, Putin’s misguided antics have turned Ukraine and Georgia into permanent enemies and created a stronger alliance among NATO countries. In spite of its pipeline with Russia, Turkey isn’t too happy with Putin either. His aggression has piqued Communist China ’s interests in partnering with Russia on several of Putin’s ambitions. A lot of trouble is brewing for NATO, including the U.S., at a time of weak leadership. It is a scary business.
