by Paul Craig Roberts, Paul Craig Roberts:
Putin has come to my conclusion of 8 years ago that the only way to avoid a dangerous war between the West and Russia likely to end in Armageddon is to incorporate the Donbass and liberated areas of Ukraine into Russia.
This means “game over,” as Paolo Raffone, director of the Belgian CIPI Foundation, put it. Once the areas are part of Russia, the conflict cannot continue without the West committing aggression directly against Russia.