Putin Has Turned Himself Into the ‘World’s Most Toxic Man’

Putin Has Turned Himself Into the ‘World’s Most Toxic Man’
Pro-Ukraine demonstrators carry signs and Ukrainian flags near Russia’s U.N. Mission in New York, Feb. 24, 2022 (AP photo by Seth Wenig).

The early results are in and could hardly be clearer: The much-dreaded Russian version of a shock-and-awe campaign to subdue Ukraine has failed.

No one knows exactly what will happen next, but the Ukrainian people have just offered a robust rebuttal to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that they are not members of a real nation. As the entire world has now seen from the first days of the conflict, their patriotism and valor in standing up to a far larger and better-armed Russian adversary caused the invaders to bog down and lose momentum. Most observers, not least Putin himself, thought that Kyiv would fall quickly, and yet a week into this conflict, Russia has still failed to capture even a single major city.

For those who see Putin as he deserves to be seen—a dangerous and power-deluded man—this is not yet the time for unreserved celebration, nor even great optimism about the future of Ukraine. And yet much has changed in remarkably little time as a result of Russia’s foolhardy adventure, and it is not too early to begin to assess some long-term consequences that will flow from this aggression.

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