There’s no telling just how far from reality Vladimir Putin is at any given time. The Russia Federation President is certainly well-insulated, surrounded largely by yes men, and surely full of himself.
We’ve seen this belligerent arrogance play itself out on the world’s stage time and time again, and in a particularly vigorous fashion throughout this war in Ukraine.
And now, despite a fairly obvious understanding that this has been an abject failure for Russia, Putin is once again engaging in some serious puffery.
With Russia’s military action in Ukraine in its fifth month, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned Kyiv that it should quickly accept Moscow’s terms or brace for the worst, adding ominously that Russia has barely started its action.
Speaking at a meeting with leaders of the Kremlin-controlled parliament, Putin accused Western allies of fueling the hostilities, charging that “the West wants to fight us until the last Ukrainian.”
“It’s a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it looks like it’s heading in that direction,” he added.
He even had the audacity to say this:
“Everybody should know that largely speaking, we haven’t even yet started anything in earnest,” Putin said in a menacing note.
The bold threat comes weeks after the Kremlin was forced to reassess their goals in Ukraine, and are now focusing on a much smaller territory to retain in the east.