Is Putin now ready to "destroy the west" ?

One of the more insidious developments in Putin's Russia is the extent to which Putin's "Thought Police" will go to ensure that the people of Russia do not even think that his war with Ukraine is wrong or unjust.  

As reported by Politico,

"A man sentenced to two years in prison in a case launched against him after his daughter [Masha Moskalyova, 13 (left)] drew an anti-war picture at school is on the run from the authorities, a spokeswoman for a provincial court told journalists.

Earlier Tuesday, a judge in the town of Yefremov in Russia’s Tula region, south of Moscow, found Alexei Moskalyov guilty of discrediting the Russian army on social media and sentenced him to two years in a penal colony." (Politico : 28 March 2023) (my emphasis)

BBC News : 25 March 2023 : YouTube

As Alessandra Scotto di Santolo (left) reported earlier,

"The West should be prepared for more provocations by the Russian President as he grows increasingly unhinged from reality, a former NATO chief warned.

Former NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson urged Western leaders to be prepared for escalation by Vladimir Putin as he tore the Russian President's "neurotic" propaganda apart. He said Putin has increasingly become more immersed in his deluded idea of Russian history." (Express : 18 March 2023) (my emphasis)

This warning by former NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson is exemplified by the report of James Gregory, that,

"Nato has condemned Russia's "dangerous" and "irresponsible" rhetoric after Vladimir Putin's decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

The organisation is "closely monitoring" the situation and said the move would not lead it to change its own nuclear strategy." (BBC News : 27 March 2023) (my emphasis)

And as reported by Espreso TV,

"Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov (left) told the Russian elite at a holiday dinner in late December that the war against Ukraine will be long
...
"I am guessing you are expecting me to say something," Peskov raised his glass and added: "Things will get much harder. This will take a very, very long time." (Expreso TV : 28 March 2023) (my emphasis) (cf. also: Pjotr Sauer and Andrew Roth : The Guardian : 28 March 2023)

Notwithstanding the recent "bromance" meeting between Putin and China's President Xi Jinping, Marco Giannangeli reports that,

"Russia's “new generation of leaders” is increasingly concerned about Moscow’s alliance with China, experts are warning. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping entered into a strategic partnership just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, in which both proclaimed their friendship to be “without limits’’.
...
But as soon as the mini-conclave [between Putin and Xi Jinping] was over, Xi sent telegrams to the leaders of all five Central Asian countries, inviting them to participate in the first “China-Central Asia” summit in May.
...
The shift has not been lost on sections of Russia’s elite who have been warning since 2015 that close relations with China would come at too high a price. (Express : 25 March 2023) (my emphasis)

Crux : 25 March 2023 : YouTube

Russia Media Monitor : 3 March 2023 : YouTube

This political maneuver of Xi Jinping in inviting all five Central Asian countries to participate in the first “China-Central Asia” summit in May has somewhat overturned Putin's euphoria about his recent meeting with Xi Jinping.

Putin's blinkered and deluded idea of Russian history, that precipitated his war with Ukraine, has now caught him on the political back foot regarding the key five Central Asian republics – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - which were part of the Soviet Union and have traditionally relied on Russia to provide security guarantees. (ibid Marco Giannangeli )

It is therefor no wonder that Russia's “new generation of leaders” is increasingly concerned about Moscow’s alliance with China, experts are warning. (ibid Marco Giannangeli )

More dangerously, however, the statement by Dmitry Peskov that, "Things will get much harder. This [war with Ukraine] will take a very, very long time.", coupled with Putin's decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, more than underscores the fact that Putin is growing increasingly unhinged from reality.

NATO and the US may believe that Putin will not press the 'nuclear button' but, as reported by Tom Watling,

"A top Putin aide [Nikolai Patrushev (left), ex head of Russia's FSB] has claimed that Russia is ready to “destroy the West” with nuclear weapons if the war in Ukraine persists, adding that the “collapse of the European Union is not far off” (Express : 28 March 2023) (my emphasis)  

What we have here is something of a contradiction between between Dmitry Peskov and Nikolai Patrushev.

Peskov stated that, "This [war with Ukraine] will take a very, very long time" (Espreso TV) whilst Patrushev is now stating that, "Russia is ready to “destroy the West” with nuclear weapons if the war in Ukraine persists". (Tom Watling)

It would seem that Putin's 'siloviki' has also become unhinged from reality and infected with Putin's deluded idea of Russian history.

And as a result Masha Moskalyova, a 13 yo girl, is forcibly removed from her father, who is then subsequently sentenced to two years in prison, and all because of his daughter's anti-war picture.

Is Putin now ready to "destroy the west" ? 

(to be continued)