COTTonLINE’s current favorite foreign policy analyst - George Friedman - writes a column anticipating a possible change in Russian strategy in Ukraine. He notes Tass, Russia’s official news outlet, now calling the Ukraine affair a “war” instead of a “special military operation.”
Tass, speaking for Russia, is blaming the west - “Berlin, Paris, The Hague, Oslo and, unfortunately, Washington” - for putting the conflict on a new footing, that of war. Friedman speculates this could be used to justify attacking the nations listed, with the claim they made it into a “war.” Or it could justify the use of so-called “tactical” nukes in Ukraine.
Or, candidly, it could be nothing more than a ploy to frighten the west into reducing aid to Ukraine. Guessing what Russia is up to has always been a crap shoot. They don’t do policy discussions openly.
