OPINION: This Is The End Of Vladimir Putin

By Nikki Slusher

Rome didn’t fall in a day. Ukraine didn’t and still hasn’t either. Vladimir Putin’s international status, however, has become the fastest social suicide done by a world superpower and it’s leader since Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s repulsive invasion of Ukraine has shocked the globe for the last five days. Tensions between the two countries have been building for years. One could say today’s invasion can be linked back to 2014 after the removal of Ukrainian Pres. Viktor Yanukovych – a Putin puppet currently living in exile in Mother Russia.

Earlier on Sunday, Putin placed Russian nuclear forces on high alert and unnecessarily escalated tensity between the East and West. Putin cited the tough financial sanctions recently enacted and NATO’s “aggressive statements” were the decisive factors in issuing a directive to increase the preparedness of Russia’s nuclear weapons. In doing so, the Kremlin has drastically increased fears that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could possibly unfold into a nuclear war. A senior U.S. defense official spoke about the Russian leader to AP, stating that “potentially putting in play forces that, if there’s a miscalculation, could make things much, much more dangerous.”

The imposed sanctions enacted by the US, EU, and UK have also already begun impacting the country severely. The Russian ruble has plunged by 30% after Russian markets opened Monday morning following the cut off from the financial system, like SWIFT, was imposed by Western countries. It’s estimated impact predicts that Russia’s cash-in-hand will drop from $650 billion to $12 billion; a devastating drop for a country that heavily funds many of its institutions. Putin sure as hell was not expecting the U.S. to still have the same leverage and unite the world against him. Not only does this enrage him, it ignites his will to continue raising the stakes.

Russia’s armed forces have also failed to rise above the occasion, and still haven’t successfully taken over Ukraine. Tactically speaking, there were a lot of failures in the Kremlin’s plans. Putin severely miscalculated the Ukrainian military’s ability to withstand Russian forces. Along with the Ukrainian military being well prepared and aided by NATO, he also underestimated the Ukrainian civilians’ will to fight for their country. While 200,000 troops is not even one-third of Russia’s military, Ukraine still has a population of more than 42 million people which makes a takeover and the ability to maintain control over the region extremely difficult.

A lot of emphasis on the Russian military’s performance in the last week is also quite preemptive of the end of Putin’s regime being closer than we think. First, the soldiers were lied to initially. They were originally told they were going for a training drill, and once they arrived their contracts were switched with the young soldiers being forced into full-on war. Most of these soldiers haven’t had any real combat training and don’t even understand why they are there in the first place.

On the other hand, logistically the Russian military has also floundered. Reports of Russian tanks and vehicles running out of gas, soldiers having little to no food, and refusal of thousands of infantry troops refusing to go to the front lines reflects poorly on the tyrant. Mass casualties also tend to not blow over well in the public’s eye. Along with losing his ability to fully control his own combatants, the massive protests from his own people is alarming to the king of misinformation – the only person to outdo Donald Trump in that category.

Each one of these prospects help create the perfect recipe for disaster in the motherland. When people are unable to buy necessary goods (food, gas), begin losing access to running water and electric, unemployed with no opportunities to make an income, banks are depleted of physical cash, oligarchs cannot flee to their Italian villas during nuclear war, and anarchy finally breaks out into extreme chaos, there is only one person that will be to blame – the man that created the entire situation, President Vladimir Putin.

The numerous failures we’ve witnessed by the Kremlin this week are shocking for a man known who once ran the KGB. Putin is famously perceived as a cold leader who can be cunning and calculated. He’s maintained his grasp on one of the largest countries by population in the world for over two decades; mistakes are unfamiliar territory in his realm. His ability to sustain his control is at risk. Putin can only do so if his followers remain loyal. Considering his closest allies are at the punishing end of the world’s rebuttal to the Ukrainian invasion, time is ticking before their allegiance to their leader starts to diminish.

Here’s the actuality of the current situation. Vladimir Putin is coming to the reality that his invasion of Ukraine is a fatal blunder, both politically and personally. He is aware of the costs his malcalculations are going to have. For a man who has controlled his country and people for so long through intimidation, fear, and retaliation it is unthinkable to him to no longer be the supreme ruler he’s been for so long. The thought of losing it all is not just incomprehensible, but it is unacceptable. Putin cannot – nor will he – ever let the day come where he is no longer one of the most powerful men in the world.

This leads us to his threat of using nuclear weapons. While I’m still unsure it will get to the point where one is fired off, what I will say is that I can assure you the entire country of Russia, and all 1,200 years of it’s cultural history, will be wiped off the face of this earth with not a single trace left of its existence. Putin is never going to surrender or admit he is wrong, but I am still not convinced he is ready to exterminate his entire country. Besides, after seeing how the world’s second best military has done compared to its expectations, I’m not convinced Daddy Vladdy’s nukes will perform much better.

Another outcome which could play out revolves around a simple question. What about Putin himself? Afterall, he is Russian and they are known to be very proud of their heritage, even if that means losing their life. If Ukraine remains an independent democracy, I believe there’s a chance that Putin may end up offing himself out of shame and humiliation. He may even fall out of a window from the top floor. Nobody really knows what the hell is going to happen at this point.

Even if you disagree with me on this point, I will support this statement with the fact that he has kept his children protected since he entered the public lifestyle, and is known to be quite the loving father. His children are the only thing the evilest man on earth cares about, and given his past actions regarding them I do not think he would let them die due to his inabilities as a leader.

Unhinged actions have consequences. Putin’s determination to further himself and the Russian nation into isolation will ultimately collapse the once untouchable ruler.