In the face of Russian provocation, it’s more important than ever that the west responds with prudence, unity and resolve
President Vladimir Putin’s planned annexation of parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine, after sham referendums there, is at least as dangerous a moment in the war as the marathon televised spectacle that prefaced Russia’s invasion in February.
Of course, things have not gone as Putin planned.
Alissa de Carbonnel is deputy programme director for Europe and Central Asia at the International Crisis Group. Oleg Ignatov, Crisis Group’s senior Russia analyst, also contributed to this article
