Openly acknowledged or not, regime change in Moscow – meaning the overthrow of Vladimir Putin – must be the western democracies’ ultimate objective as they help to thwart his conquest of Ukraine. Pursuing imperial fantasies, a tsar-like Putin has gone too far this time. Now he’s got to go. Urgently required: a new Russian revolution to topple the tyrant, led from within and assisted from without.
The idea of Putin remaining in power, even if a Ukraine settlement is eventually patched together, is both impractical and obscene. By his inhuman actions, Russia’s dictator has placed himself beyond the pale. He’s a menace to universal order, an affront to common decency. He simply cannot be trusted.
Despite resounding international condemnation, the damaging impact of western sanctions on Russia’s people, the resulting threat to global food and energy supplies, and daily evidence that his ill-led armed forces are in deep trouble, Putin appears determined to fight on, even to escalate. Last week’s disappointing Nato summit will have done little to dissuade him.
US president Joe Biden warns this blind fanaticism could bring on a death struggle, leading to Russian use of chemical, biological or even battlefield nuclear weapons. The Kremlin does not rule it out. Such crude blackmail is no basis for any kind of sane relationship. » | Simon Tisdall | Saturday, March 26, 2022
