Thread by @LLRobertson75

Been wondering what Russia & Putin are up to. So I did some digging. I believe it could be 3 possible goals. Putin came of age in the USSR & KGB. While in the KGB, he saw Soviet Russia & Russia’s greatness fall. 1/

pbs.org/wgbh/frontline…

I believe Putin’s 1st goal is to reestablish Russia’s dominance in the world. In the fall of the USSR, they lost strength & ground. In Syria & Ukraine, Putin’s showing strength & force. He made the US look weak in Syria yesterday. 2/

amp.wbur.org/onpoint/2019/0…

Putin is asserting Russian strength even if allies are needed. In Ukraine, Russia has annexed Crimea & seemingly taking Donbass & even possibly Ukraine. This could give them a western border. Putin is succeeding in showing strength.

express.co.uk/news/world/117…

Putin‘s 2nd goal is reclaiming Russian land. With the fall of the USSR, many countries were created from Russia’s western border. That border was necessary to protect Russia. But it is also about pride. 4/

asiatimes.com/2019/01/articl…

We see Russia attacking Ukraine. This is a country & Land Russia lost. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him go after other countries along Russia’s western border. He sees those is still belonging to Russia & he’s taking them back 5/

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

These first 2 goals go together. By reclaiming Russian land, it shows Russian strength & growing stronger. Russia has annexed Crimea, almost taken Donbass & likely to take Ukraine. Putin won’t stop there. He wants it all back 6/

usnews.com/news/world/art…

Putin‘s 3rd goal, is securing & gaining warm water ports. The two places Russia is fighting at, Ukraine & Syria have 1 thing in common...Tartus & Sevastopol.. Rush is only 2 warm water ports. They’re essential for trade & military 7/

theatlantic.com/international/…

These ports could aid Russia’s navy & are essential for trade. Notice that Sevastopol is in Crimea. Tartus in Syria. Russia had to secure these ports, hence war in both locations. Taking Ukraine would secure that port. 8/

Warm water ports are necessary for trade & to have further reach for their Navy & military. Russia will likely seek to add more ports. They need Mediterranean access. Right now their ally Turkey Controls their access there 9/

bbc.com/news/world-mid…

With Sevastopol they have access to the Black Sea. With Tartus they have access to the Mediterranean. And keeping Turkey happy keeps that access open. Putin seems likely to further expand land & port grabs. Which will mean further battles 10/

These 3 goals seem to go hand-in-hand. It all seems to be about strengthening Russia & reclaiming what they had before the fall of the USSR. There could be other girls & probably are... so I’ll keep digging. Putin is up to more in the Middle East...11/

Update: On October 23Russia hosted the 1st ever Russia- African Summit in Sochi. All 54 African states were represented. This has been seen as pushing a few goals for Russia. 1/

rferl.org/a/putin-hosts-…

Update: First, Putin is protecting power on the world stage. He’s also returning to Soviet era friendship w/ Africa. Even John Bolton accuses Russia of selling arms to Africa in exchange for votes at the U.N. 2/

rferl.org/a/putin-hosts-…

Update: Secondly, Russia scaling up their activities in mining gold, diamonds, platinum, cobalt & more. Russian trade with Africa has doubled in the past 5 yrs to $20 billion & Putin expects it to double again. 3/

worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/28…

Update: Third, in recent years Russia has become the largest supplier of arms to Africa. Russian arms appeal to Africa because they’re cheap & not held up by human rights concerns. Yeah, this part is particularly concerning 4/

brookings.edu/blog/africa-in…

Update: Fourth, they’re supporting energy & power development in Africa through Russian companies like Rosatom, Gazprom, Rostec & more. Russia has signed agreements to develop new clear energy with 18 African countries. 5/

brookings.edu/blog/africa-in…