Many analysts say that the war will continue until either Putin’s political career is ended or he is killed.
With the war in Ukraine hitting its one-year mark, Russian President Vladimir Putin remains so publicly committed to his military efforts that many analysts believe he will never willingly accept anything other than victory.
As such, Putin’s removal from power increasingly seems to be the likeliest end to the war.
Putin spoke at length about the war during his state-of-the-nation address on Tuesday. He said that Kyiv’s “Western handlers” had pushed Russia into conflict with Ukraine. Putin also said Western leaders are trying “to transform the local conflict into a global confrontation” and that Russia will respond to that as “it will be a matter of our country’s existence.”
Such a fervent commitment to the war could prove to be Putin’s undoing, though.
“I can imagine a coup resulting in his imprisonment or even death,” Katz said. “I can also imagine that he cuts a deal whereby he agrees to turn over power in return for safe passage for him and his cronies to a country willing to host him.”
Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO and U.
