De senaste veckorna har Putins hybridkrig mot väst eskalerat. Trots det var hans årliga tal till Rysslands ambassadörer defensivt. Frivärlds senior fellow Anders Åslund analyserar det i en artikel för Atlantic Council.
Putin’s most critical comments focused on the West’s alleged failure to take Russia’s demands seriously with regard to Ukraine. “Our partners are peculiar in the sense that they have a very, to put it mildly, superficial approach to our warnings about red lines,” he complained. Some have interpreted this as an indication of his readiness to imminently escalate in Ukraine. I would argue that it points to Putin’s begrudging respect for demonstrations of strength.