JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Global Ambitions Are Upended by Coronavirus’s Heavy Toll in Russia” – Wall Street Journal/ Yaroslav Trofimov, Thomas Grove

Russian president’s efforts to showcase the country’s strength abroad backfired amid virus troubles at home

“… Putin’s carefully nurtured image as a master strategist has suffered at home and abroad as the country grapples with the world’s third-largest coronavirus caseload and an economic contraction [including a … collapse in oil prices] that could curtail Moscow’s global ambitions. … When … Putin previously faced public-opinion and economic pressures … he annexed Ukraine’s Crimea … and invaded [Ukraine’s] Donbas …. Some of Russia’s neighbors fear … Moscow might choose a similar way out of [this] crisis … pointing to … intensifi[ed] [Donbas] clashes … and … expan[ded] … Russian military involvement in Libya’s civil war, alongside a mounting disinformation campaign …. Sergei Lavrov, in a recent [Chinese newspaper] op-ed … chastised European nations for ‘inviting foreign military presence’ … American troops deployed as part of [NATO] commitments ….”

Click here for: “Putin’s Global Ambitions Are Upended by Coronavirus’s Heavy Toll in Russia; Russian president’s efforts to showcase the country’s strength abroad backfired amid virus troubles at home” – Wall Street Journal/ Yaroslav Trofimov, Thomas Grove