Biden is ‘convinced’ Putin will invade Ukraine. Is Putin?

The only thing more sombre than President Joe Biden’s tone at his press conference on Friday afternoon was his funereal ensemble of dark suit and even darker tie. Biden made news with his declaration that the Russian president isn’t havering about invading Ukraine, if he ever really was. Instead, he’s made the decision, we were told, to attack Kyiv itself.

If Biden’s remarks were anything to go by, Putin means business. Stories are circulating that Putin and his camarilla have drawn up extensive kill lists of prominent Ukrainians they intend to terminate in coming weeks. Based on Putin’s proclivity for ridding himself of his perceived foes, it would be imprudent not to give them any credence. Others warn of a new Putin who has shed any lingering inhibitions about a big war of choice. In this scenario, Putin subjugates a recalcitrant Ukraine, treating it in a fashion similar to Syria and bringing to mind the old Tacitean dictum about creating a wasteland and calling it peace.