Putin set to escalate Ukraine war
It remains to be ascertained whether the big car bomb blast outside Moscow on Saturday that killed the daughter of Vladimir Putin’s so-called Rasputin, Alexander Dugin, the Russian nationalist ideologue and political guru who wields significant influence over him, really was a false-flag attack. Ahead of Wednesday’s commemorations of Ukraine’s 31st anniversary of independence from Moscow, the blast, like a spate of audacious attacks in recent days targeted at the heart of Russia’s illegal occupation of Crimea, is creating expectations of a major new escalation in Mr Putin’s brutal war of attrition against Kyiv.
Ukraine has been emphatic in denying any involvement in the bomb that apparently was intended to kill Mr Dugin. Instead, it blew apart his 29-year-old daughter, Darya Dugina, as she drove away from a far-right political festival they had attended. It would be hard to imagine a political assassination more likely to provoke Mr Putin into even more monstrous conduct in Ukraine or, if the false-flag claims are correct, more cynically designed to whip up declining popular support for the war and allow him to escalate his assault with renewed attacks on Kyiv.
Mr Dugin has been pivotal to Mr Putin’s ambition to restore Russia to what he regards as the glory days of the former Soviet empire. The Russian despot subscribes to Mr Dugin’s view that the Kremlin should rule over a Eurasian superstate stretching from Vladivostok west across most of Europe. After supporting Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, Mr Dugin called for Moscow to “kill, kill, kill” Ukrainian leaders. His calls for the reabsorption of Ukraine as part of “Greater Russia” have been echoed by Mr Putin. So have most of his other expansionist views.
Following the bomb blast, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of the potential threats surrounding Wednesday’s anniversary, which also will mark six months since Mr Putin embarked on his assault against Ukraine’s sovereignty. “We should be conscious of the fact that this week Russia may try to do something particularly nasty,” Mr Zelensky said.
The backdrop to that warning is Mr Putin’s anger and frustration over the setbacks being inflicted on his army. Repeated Ukrainian strikes against Russian-held territory, such as last weekend’s drone targeted at the Crimean headquarters of Mr Putin’s pride and joy, his Black Sea Fleet, and the bomb blast that killed Ms Dugina symbolise the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the Russian despot’s war.
The West, in the dangerous days that lie ahead, should prepare for every potential possibility. It needs to remain united and unwavering in its determination to provide Mr Zelensky with the means to deal with whatever Mr Putin resorts to in his effort to force his faltering war strategy back on track.