U.S. policy regarding Russian activities and Russian aggression in Ukraine is not aimed at changing the regime of Vladimir Putin, columnist and political correspondent James Hohmann writes in a column for The Washington Post.

Such statements are not heard from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, nor from Vice President Kamala Harris, nor from White House Speaker Jen Psaki.. “We want him to leave Ukraine alone,” Harris explained..

President Joe Biden's administration believes Putin has a firm grip on power and does not appear to escalate the crisis. The White House wants to give the Russian leader the opportunity to "

For the sake of the long-term security of Europe, the preservation of international order and the restoration of Russia's right to self-determination, Putin would have to go. But the United States cannot coerce a 69-year-old dictator who controls the lives of 145 million people and has 5,977 nuclear warheads..

Washington fears that Putin's appetites will not be limited only to Ukraine, and he may start aggression against other countries.

The shelling of a children's hospital and maternity hospital in Mariupol confirms that human life (including the lives of the Russian-speaking people whom he allegedly protects) is worth nothing to Putin. And the scale of the destruction suggests that he may try to repeat Aleppo and Grozny in Kyiv.

“His henchmen hound opposition leaders and kill journalists; he personally ordered Russian interference in the US elections in 2016, 2018 and 2020,” writes the columnist.

With the beginning of the invasion, the Russian dictator faces new problems: the ruble depreciates, Western companies whose products made life comfortable leave the country, the imprisoned oppositionist Alexei Navalny calls on people to go to anti-war protests, more than 13 thousand Russians have already been detained at such actions.

The intelligence community believes the economic crisis is exacerbating domestic political opposition to Putin, although independent polling in Russia is now difficult and social media such as Facebook and Twitter are blocked.. Independent reporting criminalized, spreading information about the war can result in up to 15 years in prison.

“The more Putin gets bogged down abroad, the weaker he will become at home. There is an opinion that the Russian military will take control of most or all of Ukraine, but they will not be welcomed as liberators. The more body bags returned to Russia, the weaker Putin's occupation will be,” writes Hohmann..

In his opinion, it is wrong to compare the collapse of the Soviet Union after the failure of the campaign in Afghanistan with the current activities of Russia in Ukraine.. A whole range of reasons led to the collapse of the USSR, the war was only one of them..

The absence of a potential opposition force in Russia itself complicates the possibilities of strategic planning of relations with Russia as a geopolitical player in the future.

" Who can say with certainty that Putin's successor in Moscow will be smarter? Therefore, calling for regime change in a nuclear state is a very dangerous thing,” he adds..

For now, the US government hopes to avoid joining the war with Ukraine, which could spur Putin to expand his military goals.. At the same time, the United States is ready to respond if aggression grows..