It’s worth reading the whole article, but here is a pull quote that I think is important.
Even if the hot war ends, Mr. Putin will continue to try to cripple Europe and re-establish Russia’s sphere of influence. His goal is to break Ukraine and to dismantle the American-led post-1945 order, according to Steve Covington, an advisor to NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe. As Mr. Putin told his diplomats last year, “the entire system of Euro-Atlantic security is crumbling before our eyes.” Europe “is being marginalised in global economic development, plunged into chaos…and losing international agency and cultural identity”. He [Putin] was doubtless pleased to hear J.D. Vance, America’s vice-president, echo this claim on February 15th at the Munich Security Conference. At that event in 2007 Mr. Putin first declared his determination to fight the West. The Kremlin no doubt hopes that pro-Russian right-wing parties, whom Mr. Vance admires, will gain in European elections.
“How Vladimir Putin plans to play Donald Trump.” The Economist, February 18, 2025. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints (accessed February 28, 2025). https://link-gale-com.libproxy.pcc.edu/apps/doc/A827916012/OVIC?u=pcc&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=ce6ee35d.
The Philomath 
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