Putin hasn’t ‘Objectively Won’ in Ukraine but has Defeated ‘Illusory Expectations’ of His Opponents, Pastukhov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Jan. 28 – Vladimir Pastukhov says that Putin has not achieved any “objective” success in Ukraine except that “he did not lose;” but “that outcome is perceived as a victory precisely because of the over-heated expectations” of some in the Russian opposition and some in the West that Ukraine not having lost immediately was on its way to certain victory.

            These expectations were “illusory from the very beginning,” the London-based Russian analyst says. They have “collapsed,” but because of Kremlin’s PR efforts, “this collapse has been attributed to Putin as his victory” rather than a display of how wrong their expectations were (svoboda.org/a/vladimir-pastuhov-chelovek-lesa-zahvatyvaet-gosudarstvo-/32793540.html).

            When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is viewed from a greater historical distance in the future, it will become obvious that neither in 2022 nor in 2023 did the Russian leader achieve his goals despite having what certainly appeared to be so many advantages over Ukraine, Pastukhov says.

            And he urges observers now not to award a victory in the conflict he launched just because by not yet losing, he has “defeated” the notions put about by some in Ukraine, the Russian opposition and the West that Ukraine was on the brink of defeating Russia and leading to its collapse and disintegration.

            Had their expectations been more realistic, the victory they are now ascribing to Putin would look illusionary as well, the London-based analyst says.