Putin Misses A Move

• Vladimir Pastukhov
• 2.06.2025, 13:33

And the heated public, in the absence of bread, demands spectacle.

The smartest thing Putin could do right now would be to skip the move and not respond immediately. In fact, Putin doesn't have many spectacular "good" moves in this situation.

If he could blow up all the F-16s on Ukrainian airfields, he would have done it already.

What else? Hit with something non-nuclear, but very powerful, so that the ground shakes? But Ukraine has no similar, comparable facilities that can be destroyed without inflicting hellish civilian casualties and enormous damage to the environment, and hitting targets that are easy to reach with some ballistics (nuclear power plants, bridges, decision-making centers) would result in just such casualties, which would further traumatize the already troubled Trump.

Paradoxically, Putin's best response in this situation would be to delay his response. Putin is basically good at that. He is vindictive, vindictive, and patient. Let me remind you that Prigozhin even managed to meet with Putin twice (at the "highest level," so to speak) and even agree on something. He did - and only then he dissipated. The whole question is, can Putin afford to skip a move today?

Theoretically, yes. He can "spin" the news in the public space - say, in war as in war - and try to sell the front. But there are two obstacles. The front is not pushed through, and the heated public, in the absence of bread, demands spectacles...

Vladimir Pastukhov, Telegram