RUSSIA IS A NATION WITH UKRAINE BUT ONLY A COUNTRY WITHOUT

RUSSIA NEEDS TO RETAIN UKRAIN SIMPLY FOR ITS GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND RESOURCE LANDMASS; Russian Ends and Means Effective strategy requires the alignment of ends, or objectives, and means to achieve those objectives.5 Putin’s primary objective is to bring Ukraine back into Russia’s sphere of influence, either directly by militarily conquering and annexing Ukraine (as Russia has done in some areas of eastern Ukraine) or indirectly by installing a Russian ally in Kyiv. In addition, Putin seeks to prevent further NATO expansion eastward, either through NATO membership or an expanding U.S. or European sphere of influence. Putin has been clear and consistent in claiming—falsely—that Ukraine is not, and has never been, an independent country with a distinct culture, history, religion, or language. In his article “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians,” Putin misleadingly noted that Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarussians are descendants of Ancient Rus and “bound together by one language (which we now refer to as Old Russian), economic ties . . . and—after the baptism of Rus—the Orthodox faith.”6 Putin continued that “there was no historical basis” for “the idea of Ukrainian people as a nation separate from the Russians.”7 After failing to bring Ukraine back into Russia’s orbit by seizing Crimea in 2014 and then using a combination of regular and irregular military units in eastern Ukraine over the next several years, Putin resorted to a conventional invasion in February 2022. But the Russian military was unable to swiftly defeat Ukrainian forces through a blitzkrieg campaign and has resorted to a strategy of attrition warfare. https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-grinding-war-ukraine