1、1 Ukraine as Putins Ideological ProjectMartin Kragh 21 April 2022On March 16,two weeks after Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine,Vladimir Putin called his advisors to a meeting about Russias socioeconomic situation.But they did not discuss Russias growing isolation or the fact that international
2、companies were pulling out of Russia.The discussionor rather,the Russian presidents monologuedeveloped into a thirty-minute tirade on Ukrainian history,Russias internal enemies and the Wests alleged ambitions to divide up Russian territory.Historians and political scientists tend to explain war in t
3、erms of power balances and dominance.Thus,Russias aggression toward Ukraine,which began in 2014,has been described as an attempt to secure military strategic assets,or as an attempt to prevent Ukraine from joining the European Union and NATO.In December 2021,when the Kremlin began a diplomatic offen
4、sive to revise the European security order,the demands included a retreat by NATO to 1991 borders and the permanent“Finlandization”of Ukraine,i.e.restriction of the countrys sovereignty and self-determination.These strategic aims seemed easy to explain,coming as they did from a state that for decade
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