Vladimir Putin has been generally pleased with the way his standoff with the West has unfolded after the final approval of $61 billion in aid to Ukraine.
He has been making plans for his next aggressive moves and initiatives once the $61 billion for Ukraine is gone.
The Kremlin believes that by then, the West will be under pressure from its voters to end the war. Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, will never voluntarily end the war he has started because he is determined to continue his war with Western civilisation in general and Anglo-Saxons in particular.
The West sees the consequences of the war with Russia in a negative light. However, Vladimir Putin is enthusiastic about the way things have been unravelling.
This has been one of the best periods for Vladimir Putin and his world doctrine. From his standpoint, there are so many of Russia's achievements that match his worldview and define Russia’s anti-Western agenda for the coming years.
Reasons for satisfaction
Here are some of Russia's achievements during its aggression against Ukraine:
- Russian mercenaries and clandestine agents have been facilitating the expulsion of American and French military bases from Africa.
- The Russian Orthodox Church has been successfully oppressing the Constantinople patriarchate in Africa by having congregations and priests switch from the Constantinople patriarchate to the Moscow patriarchate.
- Georgia's government, led by pro-Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been moving the country away from its initial European choice and towards an authoritarian Russian satellite.
- Serbia appointed Alexander Vulin to the government as the new country's vice prime minister because this former top Serbian spy has proven affiliation with the Russian intelligence services.
- A crucial aid to Ukraine was delayed for six months, facilitated by MAGA Republicans, an American political force Russia views as allies. The delay in military aid enabled the Russian army to regroup and accommodate in the already-occupied Ukrainian territories.
- Russia Today, a state-owned media company, has been aggressively expanding globally, pushing Russian propaganda tsunamis on people everywhere, from Honduras to the Philippines.
- Iran and China have been helping Russia fight Ukraine and the West in general.
- The Russian people submissively accepted new wartime conditions, hardships, and limitations.
- Many Russians who originally left Russia after the war started are returning because Moscow can still offer a much better compensation package and salary than Central Asian and even European countries.
From Vladimir Putin’s point of view, everything has worked out satisfactorily for him. Most significantly, he believes he could win.
Will there be a new US aid package?
The latest US aid package to Ukraine is massive, and it will most probably be sufficient to hold back the Russian army. However, it is not enough for Ukraine to regain its territorial integrity. Putin knows his primary attack should begin once the $61 billion is gone.
The Russian president understands that he must wait long enough for Ukraine to spend billions of dollars because approving a new aid package will be significantly more difficult after the current one expires.
The latest US aid package to Ukraine is massive, and it will most probably be sufficient to hold back the Russian army. However, it is not enough for Ukraine to regain its territorial integrity
He is convinced that he will eventually exhaust Ukraine and the West by extending the war, something that Western politicians will not be able to explain to their voters.
That is why he is now thinking ahead to the time when Ukraine will once again be in need of a new aid package. That is when he will move not only to Moldova but possibly to the Baltic states, particularly if isolationists win the forthcoming presidential US elections.
Putin definitely does not want to confront NATO and jeopardise everything he has accumulated during his quarter-century-long corrupt regime.
However, he wants to be the first Russian leader who has beaten the West in a few battles.
Putin's life project
He meddled in the American elections. He facilitated the departure of Western military bases from Africa, particularly American ones. He has successfully challenged the alliance of 50 countries trying to help Ukraine, and, according to Putin, without any harsh decisions or commitments.
He views himself as a world leader who united China and Iran in an alliance with Russia with the goal of at least undermining but aiming to damage America’s global influence.
Putin is super proud of damaging America's domestic atmosphere by inserting Russian propaganda rhetoric into the American public domain
He is super proud of damaging America's domestic atmosphere by inserting Russian propaganda rhetoric into the American public domain.
Vladimir Putin views himself as powerful as Joseph Stalin and ideologically globally influential as Vladimir Lenin, exposing African, South American, and Asian countries to alternative ideologies and antagonistic agendas towards the West.
This is the moment when he is already planning where to challenge and humiliate the West next, because damaging the West is a lifetime project he will never abandon.
