The large-scale military reform that will take place in Russia in 2023 confirms the main idea of the RF’s foreign policy doctrine, where a direct military confrontation with the West is seen as inevitable, preceded by a “hybrid war” for the comprehensive weakening of the strategic enemy, namely the collective West. The military reform and the planned full mobilization in the Russian Federation, together with the growing antagonism towards the West, confirm that Putin has revived the “Evil Empire” in its worst manifestations and is preparing for war with the West.
After 2016, the closed part of the RF’s foreign policy doctrine justifies the need for the territorial expansion of the Russian Federation towards the bordering territories, and not only the former USSR republics. Direct military confrontation with the West is described as an indispensable component of the restoration of Russia’s geopolitical power and greatness, and this process will take place over many years. It is significant that Putin began thoroughly preparing for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine as early as 2018. Ukraine is only the first stage of his large-scale aggression, which must be stopped before it reaches Europe.
Putin, in fact, is returning Russia to the days of bipolar confrontation and has revived the “Empire of Evil 2.0”. The Kremlin is guided by typical Soviet totalitarian clichés, believing that the political weakness and demographic hole in which the Russian Federation found itself can be corrected by including the territories of neighboring countries and assimilating ethnically or culturally related peoples. One of the ideologist of such expansion is the Russian politician and publicist Yuri Krupnov, who believes that Russia would survive as a state only when it starts an immediate large-scale war of aggression in neighboring countries, in other words, when it reconquers the former Soviet territories. The military reforms announced by Putin for 2023 are very worrying, and it is surprising that the West reacted relatively neutral to them. Putin is effectively scaling up the size of the Russian army and creating two new military districts, which will be the largest and located near NATO. In Russia, the production capabilities of the military-industrial complex are still limited, but providing the Russian army with the necessary weapons is only a matter of time. The Russian economy quickly adapts to the challenges and actually adjusts on the fly to the requirements of de facto martial law.
Russia’s split in the near future is unlikely, as well as a mass rallies and protests of Russians. Russia still has sufficient financial resources: Putin accumulated the necessary reserves long before the war, and Russian society is intimidated and “poisoned” by propaganda. And this is all that Putin needs in order to continue the war in Ukraine and carry out further mobilization.
Putin has launched a global challenge and there is no turning back. Russia is preparing for a years’ long bloody war, and the only way to critically weaken the Russian army is to stop it in Ukraine. Currently, Russia has lost a huge number of effective weapons, and the question has arisen as to how to replenish them. As long as Putin could not make up for the losses due to his own production and imports from Iran and the DPRK, this is the best way to consistently weaken the Russian army. Russia must be isolated politically and informationally, and exhausted economically and militarily. Complex counteraction to the Russian Federation is the key to preventing the third world war, the architect of which is Putin. The complete isolation of Russia is not an exaggeration, but an urgent need to prevent the catastrophe for humanity planned by the Kremlin’s dictator.
Ukraine is a de facto shield of Europe and needs support. The supply of weapons to the Armed Forces is a contribution to peace and tranquility in Europe.
Ukraine, experiencing the most difficult winter for it, needs air defense systems to close the Ukrainian sky from Russian missiles, assistance to Ukrainian civilians, electricity generators and fuel for Ukrainian cities. All this will help to defend its sovereignty and right to life from the Russian occupier.