JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Halfway to Hell Strategy; Why Putin Has Not Yet Launched a Total War in Ukraine” – Foreign Affairs/ Andrei Soldatov, Irina Borogan

March 8, 2023 JRL Russia List Headlines, JRL NewsBlog, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

“… Often, the Kremlin has initially appeared to take a maximalist course. Instead of invading eastern Ukraine, it launched a full-scale assault on the whole country and tried to take Kyiv. In addition to deploying tanks, missiles, and heavy artillery, Putin has repeatedly made threats about using nuclear weapons. And he has seemingly been willing to sacrifice tens of thousands of men to fuel his war. At home … the government has announced extreme measures to clamp down on … media and popular dissent … [and] put the Russian economy on a war footing. Yet many of these moves have been considerably less severe in practice than they seem on paper. … By many indications, this partial approach to total war is not haphazard, nor … simply the result of failed execution. … Russia appears to be pursuing a deliberate strategy …. By staking out a maximalist stance … the Kremlin can suggest to the West that it is prepared to do whatever it takes to win in Ukraine, without necessarily having to make good on its threats. At home … the Russian government can convey … that it has the option of tightening the screws further, but that it is not going out of its way to alienate the population. … [T]he strategy offers Putin a[] … path toward further escalation, but without … immediate costs. …”