Throughout the first weeks of 2022, as Russian military units massed near the Ukrainian border, Vladimir Putin consistently maintained that they were merely conducting a “routine military exercise,” and that — contrary to the concerns of the rest of the world — he had no intention of invading Ukraine.

On February 24, 2022, Putin’s military crossed the border in a full-scale invasion that he said would be over within days. Four and a half years later, what he has since renamed a “special military operation” continues to decimate the sovereign nation of Ukraine, with millions of dead and wounded on both sides and no end in sight.

Since that time, Ukraine has fought back valiantly, in the process becoming a world leader in drone technology. But they haven’t done it alone; support from the United States and multiple European nations has been vital to their survival.

That support has also infuriated Putin, who has been conducting a vengeful hybrid war on the side, targeting a number of EU member nations with a combination of drone incursions into their airspace, acts of sabotage, cyber attacks, and other threats in an attempt at intimidation . . . like that explosive-laden drone aimed at a Ukrainian cargo plane in Leipzig.

But it hasn’t worked. Instead, the European nations have united, strengthened their defenses, issued sanctions against Russian entities, and increased their support for Ukraine. And Putin, on the eve of the 2026 BRICS summit in New Delhi, made the following comments in what is an almost comical self-contradiction:

“They are currently talking about how to send troops into Ukraine. That means war with Russia. Regarding security, the issue is clear: it is an attempt to ‘finish off’ the Russian Federation. First using terrorists and separatists in the Caucasus, then through other tools, and now via the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine. Yet, it does not stop.” [Kanyshai Butun, aa.com.tr, September 12, 2026.]

“That means war with Russia.” Hmmm . . . I don’t know. That kind of sounds like a threat to me.

Yet in the next breath, he pivots to his usual attempt at deflection, adding:

“They [‘European elites’] are frightening their populations with an imaginary threat from Russia. We are not threatening, nor do we intend to threaten, European countries. Why would we? No one even considers the fact that we have no grounds for any conflict with Europe.” [Id.]

Now, why does that sound so familiar? And are we really supposed to swallow it . . . again?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/13/26