JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Ukraine obsession has blinded him to dangers at home” – Financial Times
“The Kremlin autocrat once wanted to align with the U.S. in fighting terrorism but is trapped in lies and paranoia”
“… Today, Russia’s discourse seems intended to justify inaction, rather than action. Putin’s vaunted security apparatus, obsessed with pursuing proclaimed enemies of the state, proved unable to prevent Russia’s deadliest terrorist attack in 20 years. … Russia’s current framing of … threats … shows just how far Putin has travelled since … the early 2000s: from cosying up to America as a counterterrorism partner to brushing off its warnings with callous disregard and paranoid suspicion, and from proclaiming unity of purpose with Washington against terrorism to disparaging it as the creator of terrorist forces. Putin’s obsession with Ukraine has made him blind to the real dangers to Russia, lurking abroad and at home.”