In it for the long haul

Why Putin is unlikely to quit Ukraine

1. He ran the same playbook in Chechnya—in lieu of the outright conventional victory with which Western observers seem obsessed, Putin will more likely rely on the “dirty war” tactics that pacified Chechnya.

2. There’s big-time oil and gas reserves at stake (yes, fossil fuels still rule the day, especially in the Donbas and off the coast of Crimea).

3. His poll numbers are up: Putin’s war carries widespread support among the 180 million-strong Russian populace, never mind the relative handful of protestors and dissenters that Western media play up as a viable counterweight to the Kremlin. And we all know from our own vast experience just how a good old-fashioned war can boost a president’s popularity.

4. Did I mention oil and gas?

Nyet krovi za neft’!