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Anders Åslund Profile picture
@anders_aslund
Mar 11, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read • Read on X
A few thoughts on Putin's war.
1. Putin has not been provoked. He simply wants war as in Georgia 2008 and Crimea 2014 or Syria 2015. Wars are good for his domestic popularity - rose to 88% in 2008 and 2014 - and they help hm justify more domestic repression.
2. Putin is stating clearly that he is not in war against Ukraine but against the West - the US, Europe and NATO. It is a delusion to think that the West can stay out of Putin's war. The West should instead think of how and when to fight Putin.
3. Logically, Putin's war ends when he is ousted/killed or when he runs out of soldiers, arms or money. Neither is likely to happy any time soon.
Conclusion: Make all kinds of sanctions as tough as just possible & deliver lots of arms to Ukraine.
4. Many observers think that Putin is so mad that he can use chemical, biological or nuclear arms. This makes it vital to stop him soon.

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More from @anders_aslund

Anders Åslund Profile picture
Oct 26
How Trump has aggravated Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine:
1. Trump stopped all financial & military assistance to Ukraine in January 2025.
2. He posed no conditions or sanctions on Russia until mid-October, effectively encouraging Putin's aggression. /1
3. While praising Putin no end, Trump ambushed Zelensky in the White House on February 28 & October 17, showing that he supported Putin.
4. Trump supported Viktor Orban, who supports Putin & Xi, trying to split the EU as much as possible. /2
5. Trump sacked the best US intelligence analysts on Russia & Ukraine relying on his own daydreams instead.
6. Trump failed to come up with any sensible peace proposal & thus failed.
7. Trump even blamed the war on Zelensky & Biden rather than Putin. /3
Read 4 tweets
Anders Åslund Profile picture
Oct 21
A few comments on Trump's dealings with Ukraine:
1. He turned against Zelensky when Zelenky refused to falsify evidence against the Bidens.
2. At that time, Trump & Giuliani worked with men such as Andriy Derkach that US intelligence verified as belonging to Russia intelligence.
3. After Putin had launched his full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022, Trump called Putin a "genius." In no way did he defend Ukraine or protest against Putin's aggression.
4. Trump's connections with Russian intelligence are old & verified.
amazon.com/House-Trump-Pu…
5. Trump lies all the time. Remember that the Washington Post established 30,000 lies during his first 4 years as president. (Cowardly Bezos has ended this documentation.)
6. On no basis, liar & boaster Trump claimed that he would stop the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours.
Read 12 tweets
Anders Åslund Profile picture
Oct 17
This is ridiculous:
1. Trump has supported Putin & his war of aggression against Ukraine all along, stopping all aid to Ukraine. Even if he lies all the time, believe his actions.
2. Ukraine has asked for Tomahawks (which Trump would never give against his friend Putin). /1
3. Trump has dragged poor Zelensky to Washington once again to abuse him in support of Putin's terror of Ukraine.
4. Why does Trump do this? Most republicans support Ukraine & democracy rather than Putin, aggression & dictatorship. Trump must play a tragicomedy. /2
5. Trump & Vance are likely to abuse Zelensky, Ukraine, democracy & the West once again tomorrow, but they might abstain for the next round.
6. In Budapest, Trump will promote the most anti-democratic leader in the EU & oppose the EU & its support of Ukraine. /3
Read 4 tweets
Anders Åslund Profile picture
Sep 21
Let us stop for a moment & consider how Trump damages the US:
1. He isolates the US economically & politically.
2. He has already ended the rule of law,
3. as well as the freedom of the media.
4. He has devastated US science &
5. tries to further undermine bad US health. /1
6. He has effectively ended NATO & all other Western alliances because he is completely unreliable.
7. He has abandoned truth altogether.
8. He has stopped all anti-corruption rules & thrived on his personal enrichment.
9. He interferes in the economy as the worst dictator. /2
10. His lawlessness has made it nearly impossible to invest in the US.
11. His anti-immigration policies have made it dangerous for any talented foreigners - students, researchers or businessmen - to come to the US.
12. Trump's loose fiscal policy is long-term unsustainable. /3
Read 4 tweets
Anders Åslund Profile picture
Sep 17
How can we know that Trump supports Putin?
1. He says so, praising Putin for being a genius invading Ukraine.
2. He has not imposed any sanctions on Russia since January.
3. He is not enforcing the previous sanctions on Russia.
4. He votes with Putin & a dozen rogue states in UN.
5. Trump has stopped all US financial & military aid to Ukraine, although Ukraine enjoys broad popular support also in GOP.
6. Liar Trump claims absurdly that Zelensky started the war, while Putin did.
7. Trump has not imposed any conditions on Russia for ceasefire.
8. Instead, Trump has imposed conditions on Ukraine, the victim.
9. By ending the sanctions on Belarusian airline Belavia (for no good reason), Trump has facilitated US supplies of parts to Boeings standing in Russia.
10. Trump & Witkoff are itching to invest in Russia.
Read 7 tweets
Anders Åslund Profile picture
Sep 15
The always excellent annual Yalta European Strategy Conference took place in Kyiv September 12-13. Trump's envoy General Kellogg was there, so the Russians did not bomb Kyiv for 2 nights...
2 things stand out:
The US has left &
Ukraine produces its own arms but needs money. /1
Kellogg supports Ukraine, but he can's explain that Trump has stopped all financial & military aid to Ukraine. As all Trump appointees he says that he cannot speak for the president.
Kellogg claimed that NATO is stronger than ever.
No! Trump works for Putin & not for NATO. /2
The big positive news is that Ukraine has developed hundreds of startups in arms production, mainly drones. They produce new stereotypes in 2 weeks & can quickly scale up. Ukraine does not ask for more arms from the West but for money since they produce arms cheaper. /3
Read 4 tweets

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