“Putin Is Weak, Not Strong”

Source: Doug Saunders, The Globe and Mail, May 11

…Mr. Putin stands to gain absolutely nothing from eastern Ukraine. Even the most “Russian” of the eastern districts has no more than one-third Russians in its population, and they are by no means united behind Moscow. Adding such regions to Russia would give him economically useless territory that would likely be plunged into perpetual civil war. This is not empire-building; his territorial thrust puts him in a position of weakness, not strength….