trump is still acting as if he's relevant

The Presidient of the USA and his ministers still seem fairly friendly with Mr. Putin. He admires "strong leaders" like Putin, Orban (Hungary) and Erdogan (Turkey); all four basically narcissistic egoists with more power than good for them or anyone else. All he criticised were Putin's comments, not overall policies and desires that had not changed.

The USA is now (late-November) intending talks about "ending the war", between the US and Russian Federation, but not including Europe let alone Ukraine. Though remember Hungary's president is pro-Putin, and Turkey's relationship ambivalent.

The fear is that the USA's president may want Ukraine to surrender the Russian-occupied land in Eastern Ukraine. Its residents of course, probably even any who may have been pro-Russian anyway, do not matter to men like those four presidents.

If that territory was Putin's sole ambition it is difficult to see any tactical grounds for actively bombing cities in the West, and trying to make the whole country uninhabitable. He has already stolen Crimea and I cannot see Russia returning it even after Putin's reign ends - probably only when he dies.

He wants the entire country, has never really made any secret of that, even ordered his forces to regard all Ukrainians, not only the military, as legitimate targets. An "end" that costs that Eastern territory would only be a ceasefire that holds Putin at bay for a while.


I suggest the apparent attraction for Putin is three-fold, apart from sheer USSR-style imperialism.

- Sea access. He already has Crimea with its major naval port of Sevastopol, but Odessa (SW Ukraine) would be at least as valuable. This would suit the Russian Federation's ally, the People's Republic of China as well, by giving China rail access to more ports and roads serving Europe and Africa. Their respective railways are compatible enough for direct travel between them, and their links in Asia have been developed further in recent years. They are not though, compatible with the European railways apart from Finland, thanks to their differing track gauges.

- Agriculture. Ukraine is very fertile, a major agricultural country, exporting a lot of grain especially to Africa; mainly by sea from Odessa.

- Mineral deposits, but an article I read a while ago in a geological magazine suggests these have been very much talked-up, and not really as valuable as often thought.