Russian President Vladimir Putin stands while waiting for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko prior to their talks in Moscow, on March 11, 2022. (source: AP/SITA)
Vladimir Putin bet that the West wouldn’t care if he invaded Ukraine. He lost that bet, but instead of folding his cards Putin is now doubling down. His new bet is that the West will eventually lose interest. In a longer war, Slovakia is one place where Putin will first look to test western resolve.
As the Ukrainians continue their heroic resistance, it’s becoming clear that fighting could go on for quite a while. One recent analysis by Thomas Graham, a former member of George W. Bush’s National Security Council and now a professor at Yale, presents a scary — but scarily realistic — picture for how that might look.
