There is no point in defending Vladimir Putin from the feeling that he is losing the war against Ukraine.. He will understand everything and protect himself. And Russia is not driven to a standstill, nor is its army. She is the invader. Therefore, having been defeated, its combat units will retreat abroad to Russian territory..

Timothy Snyder, an American historian and professor at Yale University, wrote about this on his Twitter page.. He notes that Putin rules in virtual reality, where there is always an escape route.. It cannot be driven into a dead end in Ukraine, because Ukraine is not a virtual, but a real place.

“It’s hard for people from other societies to realize that Putin is a dictator who controls the media of his country.. He rules by changing the subject. Putin changes the subject all the time. The last time Russia invaded Ukraine, its media changed the subject to Syria in one day.. And the Russians accepted it. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the media quickly moved from saying that an invasion was impossible to telling that it was inevitable.. And the Russians accepted it, ”said the historian.

Defeated in reality, Putin will simply declare victory on television. And the Russians will believe him, or at least pretend to believe. He doesn't need help with it.. It makes no sense to create “exits” for Putin in the real world when all he needs is a virtual world that he completely controls.. Talk of "

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“Of course, Putin can make a mistake and delay too long in announcing victory in the virtual world.. In this case, he will lose power. We can't save him from such mistakes.. And attempts to do this will be false,” says Snyder..

Putin's power over the media will be complete until the moment he loses it.. There will be no time frame during which the actions of the West in the real world can somehow affect the situation. So the search for “exits” is either not needed or irrelevant..

“It is grotesque to ask Ukrainians to decide on war for the comfort of Russian television producers, who are in no way guided by the real world.. Misunderstanding Russia through such cliches as “corralling” and “getting out of the situation” will only make this war longer, distracting from the simple necessity of a Russian defeat, ”explains the historian.

He emphasizes that Ukraine is a completely different matter.. President Volodymyr Zelensky, unlike Putin, was elected democratically. He feels responsible for his people and operates in a world where others matter.. There is a press in Ukraine that is not controlled by the government. Zelensky can't just change the subject. He has to convince his people before making any big decision..

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Unlike Putin, Zelensky will have to explain to his people the end of this war. Therefore, he will need help in both tasks: to achieve victory and to explain to the Ukrainians what will happen next..

“Unlike Russian soldiers, Ukrainians have nowhere to go. They can't just go home. The war continues in their country,” Snyder explained..

He added that the end of the war means thinking more about the Ukrainian people and their future and worrying less about problems that Putin does not really have..