Vladimir Putin- Some People Call Him The Space Cowboy

But no one calls him the Gangster of Love anymore

I can’t imagine Vladimir Putin set out to be the world’s most reviled leader when Russian forces launched missiles into Ukraine on February 24th. He’d undoubtedly convinced himself that he was doing a good thing. It quickly became apparent, though, that Ukraine and the rest of the world didn’t see things that way. As a result, Russia has devolved into a pariah state, and Putin is the leader in the clubhouse for the “winner” of the 2022 Most Punchable Face award.

As someone willing to lie, cheat, and steal his way to his ultimate goals, it’s taken just seven short months for Putin to establish his bonafides as a war criminal and mass murderer. As a result, something like 50,000 Russian troops and who-knows-how-many (but probably far less) Ukrainians have died in action.

Of course, those numbers don’t account for Ukrainian civilians killed during the war. And it can’t begin to account for those murdered by Russians who committed atrocities and war crimes.

Now karma is beginning to have its way with Russia.

NEW YORK (AP) — The tide of international opinion appears to be decisively shifting against Russia, as a number of non-aligned countries are joining the United States and its allies in condemning Moscow’s war in Ukraine and its threats to the principles of the international rules-based order.

Western officials have repeatedly said that Russia has become isolated since invading Ukraine in February. Until recently, though, that was largely wishful thinking. But on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, much of the international community spoke out against the conflict in a rare display of unity at the often fractured United Nations.

Clearly, the war in Ukraine is not going as Russia had intended. Putin and his generals assumed they’d face light, disorganized resistance and quickly emerge victorious. Instead, seven months later, the Russian Army is rapidly being bled of combat-ready troops and materiel. It’s also been exposed as a poorly-led and inadequately trained force that’s slow to maneuver and saddled with low morale.

Russian troops have little reason to fight. Many don’t understand what they’re fighting for in Ukraine and why they’re in-country in the first place. Ukrainian forces, however, know precisely what they’re fighting for- survival. They’re motivated, tough, experienced, and well-supported- by Ukrainians and the West.

While most Russian equipment- from tanks to light weaponry is old, outdated, not well-maintained, and inadequately supplied, the Ukrainians are blessed with much shorter supply lines. Moreover, because of the weaponry they’re receiving from the West, they’re much better equipped, and what they have is far less likely to degrade on the battlefield.

Russian supply lines are long, ridiculously inefficient, and easily interdicted by Ukrainian forces. Moreover, the Ukrainians have proven adept at taking out bridges and rail lines to deny the Russians easy means of resupply.

Now, both the war AND world opinion have turned against Russia.

Numerous world leaders used their speeches on Tuesday and Wednesday to denounce Russia’s war. That trend continued Thursday both in the assembly hall and at the usually deeply divided U.N. Security Council, where, one-by-one, virtually all of the 15 council members served up harsh criticism of Russia – a council member -- for aggravating several already severe global crises and imperiling the foundations of the world body.

The apparent shift in opinion offers some hope to Ukraine and its Western allies that increasing isolation will add pressure on Putin to negotiate a peace. But few are unduly optimistic. Putin has staked his legacy on the Ukraine war and few expect him to back down. And, Russia is hardly isolated. Many of its allies depend on it for energy, food and military assistance and are likely to stand by Putin regardless of what happens in Ukraine.

Still, it was striking to hear Russia’s nominal friends like China and India, following up on last week’s remarks, speak of grave concerns they have about the conflict and its impact on global food and energy shortages as well as threats to the concepts of sovereignty and territorial integrity that are enshrined in the U.N. Charter.

Brazil registered similar concerns. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa make up the so-called BRICS bloc of countries, which has often shunned or outright opposed Western initiatives and views on international relations.

Putin had been hoping for assistance from China but has been reduced to purchasing war materiel from North Korea. When Russia, a country that once claimed to be (and still believes it is) one of the world’s great military powers, is buying war materiel from North Korea, you know it’s in dire straits.

Even if Russia denies being in trouble.

Unsurprisingly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was unapologetic and defensive at the same time and specifically targeted Zelenskyy. Citing a phrase often attributed to President Franklin Roosevelt, Lavrov called Zelenskyy “a bastard," but said Western leaders regarded him as “our bastard.”

He repeated a long list of Russia’s complaints about Ukraine and accused Western countries of using Ukraine for anti-Russia activities and policies.

“Everything I’ve said today simply confirms that the decision to conduct the special military operation was inevitable,” Lavrov said, following Russian practice of not calling the invasion a war.

Russia has denied being isolated and the foreign ministry used social media to publicize a number of apparently cordial meetings that Lavrov has held with foreign minister colleagues at the UN in recent days.

Of course, holding “apparently cordial meetings” in a diplomatic setting can be and very often is apropos of nothing. Representatives of countries generally try to maintain civil relationships regardless of circumstances to help smooth relations between their governments if necessary.

Whether or not they have the self-awareness to admit it, Russia has a severe problem. The Ukrainian Army’s offensive is rolling up large swaths of land the Russians had taken in the early days of the war. Moreover, in abandoning their positions, the Russian Army left behind large quantities of heavy equipment, some of it brand new tanks in barely-used condition. The Ukrainians are in some cases fighting Russians with heavy equipment abandoned by the Russian Army.

Karma can be such a bitch.

Russian morale is in the toilet, and even with Vladimir Putin’s order mobilizing 300,000 reservists, that reality is unlikely to change. Most Russians don’t know why or for what they’re fighting. Many Russians have Ukrainian family members or friends, so it’s difficult to understand why they’re fighting their brother Slavs.

Russia is increasingly being isolated and treated as an international pariah. Its economy is shrinking and cut off from credit markets. As a result, it’s losing customers for its gas and oil exports. Before long, the country’s ability to generate hard currency will dwindle to almost zero, making it challenging to procure what it needs to continue prosecuting the war in Ukraine.

It’s difficult to know how long Vladimir Putin can continue to demand that his Army continue his “special operation” in Ukraine when morale is so low, and readiness is declining precipitously. However, Ukrainian morale and readiness will remain high as they continue to be supplied state-of-the-art weaponry by the West and pursue their goals of unifying their homeland.

Putin may not realize this, but Russia has little hope of winning this war with virtually the entire world aligned against him. His Army will continue to be outgunned by a highly motivated and well-trained force equipped with superior weaponry and tactics.

Russia succeeded through terror and brute force in the first few months of the war. They destroyed everything in their wake and terrified the civilian population into relocating. Victory through war crimes is an inferior strategy because there are consequences that will eventually result from those actions.

Unfortunately, that strategy requires a tremendous amount of manpower and materiel. It’s also incredibly costly, and for a country that still resembles a Third World economy, that isn’t easy to sustain over the long term.

In time, Ukraine, with help from the West, will defeat Russia and almost certainly push the Russian Army back from all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and the Donbas. But, if Vladimir Putin remains in power, he’ll be the leader of a weakened Russia, which may become a country reliant on state terrorism and other dark arts to achieve its goals.

With any luck, Putin will be deposed. Whether through violence or peaceful means hardly matters at this point. He’s a war criminal responsible for thousands of deaths and numerous war crimes. I’d love to see him tried on war crimes charges and given a cigarette and a blindfold.

Sadly, I don’t think the world will be so fortunate as to see anything that clean and final. Putin will very likely find a way to escape accountability and live out his days in comfort and luxury. His billions of stolen wealth will undoubtedly afford him that opportunity.

Still, if someone happened to slide a torpedo into one of his luxury yachts while he was aboard, few would shed a tear for the monster, knowhutimean?? As a wise friend of mine once said, some folks just need killing.