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Transcript/ScriptPutin-World View (TV)
HEADLINE: Experts: Putin Put Himself in Difficult Position With Ukraine Threat
TEASER: The Russian president made unrealistic demands regarding Ukraine that the U.S. and NATO cannot fulfill, experts say
PUBLISHED AT: Wednesday, 02/02/2022 at: 8 pm
BYLINE: Cindy Saine
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER: Mary Cieslak
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, BR
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Saine Skype video interviews, VOA Graphics map, VOA file video, Reuters, AP, AFP))
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:10
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO: ))
All eyes are on Russian President Vladimir Putin, as he has amassed more than 100,000 Russian troops near the borders of Ukraine. Experts say Putin may have placed himself in a difficult position in an effort to elevate Russia's standing in the world. VOA's senior diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports.))
((NARRATOR))
Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first comments in weeks Tuesday about Ukraine – blaming the U.S. and NATO for the mounting tensions.
((Vladimir Putin, Russian President (in Russian) )) "Their [the United States'] most important goal is to contain Russia, that's the thing. In
this sense, Ukraine itself is just a tool to achieve this goal. This can be done in different ways — [one of them is] to draw us into some armed conflict."
((NARRATOR))
But experts note Putin is the one who deployed more than 100,000 Russian troops to Ukraine’s border, Crimea and Belarus, to bolster his demand that NATO pull some of its forces out of Eastern Europe and promise to never admit Ukraine.
With this military buildup, Putin has put himself into a box, says former CIA military analyst Jeffrey Edmonds.
((Jeffrey Edmonds, CNA Research Scientist)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype))
“He's made very maximalist demands that he knows that we can't really, I mean, I would assume that he knows we can't meet. We're not going to withdraw NATO infrastructure back to 1997 levels, which is one of the things that they've asked us to do. And so I think he's in a holding pattern, waiting for the right military composition on Ukraine's border in order to actually take military action.”
((NARRATOR))
President Joe Biden says he and Putin “understand each other.” But Biden has also said he believes Putin is planning to invade Ukraine. Some experts say Putin wants to make sure Russia is still viewed as a major player on the world stage.
((MANDATORY COURTESY: BROOKINGS.EDU))
Angela Stent wrote the book, Putin’s World.
((Angela Stent, Brookings Institution)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype))
“And he believes that the rest of the world should treat Russia as if it were the Soviet Union. He doesn't want to restore the Soviet Union, but he wants to be treated as a great power whose views are respected and where people sort of fear Russia and they accept that Russia has a right to the sphere of influence in its neighborhood.”
((NARRATOR))
Some experts say Putin likely sees eastern Ukraine, where a war has been simmering since he annexed Crimea in 2014, as part of Russia.
((RADIO TRACK: Michael Kimmage is with the German Marshall Fund of the United States.))
((Michael Kimmage, The German Marshall Fund of the United States)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype))
“So, I think Putin might acknowledge that western Ukraine is genuinely Ukrainian and perhaps belongs in the European cultural and political world. But in his eyes, eastern Ukraine is sort of a version or an extension of Russia."
((NARRATOR))
But what Putin really fears the most is dissent from his own people, says Bill Browder – founder of the Magnitsky Justice Campaign.
((Bill Browder, Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype))
“The average Russian is worse off — a lot worse off — than when he first became president and that's all, he owns that, that's all on him. And so, he's pulling this strategy straight out of the dictator's playbook, that when people are mad at you, make them mad at somebody else. Start a war."
((NARRATOR))
During his New Year address to the nation, Putin did not mention that he implemented a major crackdown on his critics. The most influential one, Alexey Navalny, was jailed one year ago, after he survived a poisoning attack.
Cindy Saine, VOA News
NewsML Media TopicsConflict, War and Peace, Politics, Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateFebruary 2, 2022 20:43 EST
BylineCindy Saine
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
