Getting credible news and commentary from Ukraine can be problematic. I’ve been receiving a newsletter from Ukraine called Kyiv Independent. I also view a Polish Public Television program found on YouTube, Telewizja Polska S.A.(PVT), that has up-to-date military news coverage and action video from the anti-Russian perspective, of course. Poland has a much better understanding of Russia than most of us in the West. During WWII, Poland was savagely occupied first by the Nazis only to be liberated and savaged by Stalin’s brutal Red Army.
Another seemingly straight news and opinion source is called “Inside Russia“. This is found on YouTube and is updated at least weekly. The host evacuated Russia around the time of the invasion of Ukraine and broadcasts his channel from abroad. He speaks excellent English and went to college studying economics in the USA. He combs through news and events in Russia and gives context and interpretation. He seems quite credible.
Usually, TVP military content is dripping with the irony around Russia’s once-feared conventional military collapsing in on itself. Poland has everything to fear from Putin’s imperialism so they are following the Putin-Ukraine war closely. So are the Baltic states and perhaps a few former Soviet states to the south as well.
“Since the establishment of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547 and to the present day, Russia has fought wars every two-three decades, on average, meaning that there was never a Russian generation that lived in peace.” From essay by Oleksiy Sorokin, “WTF is Wrong with Russia?” The Kyiv Independent, January 23, 2025.
“In 1774, Russia decisively won the Russo-Turkish War, obtaining what is roughly today Ukraine’s regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odessa, Mykolaiv and parts of Donetsk Oblast. The Russian Empire also forced the Ottoman Empire to relinquish control of Crimean Khanate.” Oleksiy Sorokin, ibid.
Much of Putin’s propaganda is anchored in allegations of Western buggery and provocations, spying or otherwise contamination of Russian sovereignty by Western culture which they see as morally corrupt. The former USSR and present-day North Korea built their nations on the fear of America and NATO preparing to invade. The illegal annexing of territory, theft of money and denial of basic human rights is more easily justified if the threat of 10 ft tall foreign soldiers is predicted.
I am unaware of any previous or future attempts by the West to invade Russian territory for any reason. What in the hell would you do with it if you won? Ok, they have minerals and lots of timber which are valuable. Still, the country is crawling with Russian citizens who are, by the way, just as smart as we are and would be highly motivated for self-defense just like the Ukrainians have been. There is no future in a Russia-vs-West major war. The threat of it, however, has value to people like Putin as it did in the bygone days of the USSR.
Putin has done a bit of nuclear saber rattling since his invasion of Ukraine but Western states know that cooler heads in the Kremlin are aware of the consequences of releasing a nuclear war shot even as a demonstration. Everyone knows about Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) but a few on either side have always doubted MAD. Obviously, the ominous warnings of “nuclear weapons” were meant to frighten the citizens of the EU and USA with the hope of weakening anti-Russian sentiment abroad.
In the West we can ask the questions “Why is Russia so paranoid all of the time?” “Why is authoritarian rule so prevalent in Russian history?” Putin has publicly stated that the West wants what they have and he is determined to keep western invaders out. Well, yes this is true as far as market access. Many businesses around the world would love oil & gas or other concessions like Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) or titanium. Russia’s internal markets are underserved and represent opportunities for both Russian citizens and international trade.
I sense there is a fear in Russia that if another country uses Russian raw materials to make a profit elsewhere, that it constitutes a theft directly from them. You know, the zero-sum of “their gain is our loss”. It may be a residue of their long-term dalliance with Marxist-Leninism and Communism.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if only Russia could relax just a bit and join the international community of nations and trading partners. Too idealistic by half? Yes, for now.
Lamentations on Chemistry 
Look at the geography. There are no natural boundaries between Russia and the countries to its west. Napoleon and Hitler each demonstrated that invasion into Russia as deep as Moscow is doable. That’s why the Russian leadership and even the citizenry are somewhat paranoid.
The post World War II satellite nations west of the Soviet union were intended as a buffer to protect mother Russia from land invasion.
Once the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990 those countries plus the Baltic states chose to throw in their lot with Western Europe and join the European Union. This has created a problem for the Russians.
The bigger problem is the mindset between Russian thinking and that in the Western democracies. The West has embraced the principles of national sovereignty as embodied in the United Nations. The post Soviet Russians continue to believe that “might makes right” and reject the post WW2 victory of democracy over totalitarianism.
Just like the defeat of the south after the Civil War in the US, the totalitarians in Europe refused to accept the result of the their defeat in 1945.
Thanks for the input. I agree that protecting Moscow from land invasion from the west has historically been a driving force behind Soviet and Russian expansionism to the west. But there is more. I think there was a perception among some in Russia that western countries were aggressively hostile to Soviet communism. A prevailing doctrine among Bolsheviks in the years from Lenin’s death to Stalin’s ascendency to General Secretary and forward was that the Soviet Union should strive for global communism. And strive they did. The west knew this of course and applied pushback. The origin of the Cold War begins here.
At the close of WW II the Soviets swallowed up 8 European countries despite agreements in Potsdam and Yalta between the Axis and the USSR. to leave countries that they occupied to be truly liberated. The Soviets did what they always do- they established authoritarian states, curbed most travel between states and clamped down on journalism. They did then what we see today in Russia. Total state control on all form of communication and news reporting. Surveillance by powerful state police and harsh criminal justice. To make a statement that the authorities took as harmful to the state had severe consequences for anyone not towing the line.
I think that Soviet and Russian paranoia really became an international force with Stalin. His distrust and bloody purges of elites, and murderous brutality towards his own countrymen baked into Russian culture the belief that enemies of the state were behind every tree and in the hearts of all foreigners. The Soviet Union morphed into a fortress leading to the so called ‘Iron Curtain’.
Today we see a religious/conservative sect of the Republican party having taken over the Congress and the presidency of the US. Trump was the enabler. He was wealthy, boisterous, a TV personality, and a magnet for showing up on TV. Much to my surprise he has aligned with Putin in certain ways. He is a natural born authoritarian and loudmouth. He portrays himself as wealthy and being of a high class. He has learned to attract followers of those who self-identify as downtrodden. Millions of people believe that having been a ‘successful’ businessman, he surely must be a natural political leader- one who can ‘drain the swamp.’ Running a large corporation must be similar to high office in the government, it was said. Millions still cling to this notion.
Look at the geography. There are no natural boundaries between Russia and the countries to its west. Napoleon and Hitler each demonstrated that invasion into Russia as deep as Moscow is doable. That’s why the Russian leadership and even the citizenry are somewhat paranoid.
The post World War II satellite nations west of the Soviet union were intended as a buffer to protect mother Russia from land invasion.
Once the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990 those countries plus the Baltic states chose to throw in their lot with Western Europe and join the European Union. This has created a problem for the Russians.
The bigger problem is the mindset between Russian thinking and that in the Western democracies. The West has embraced the principles of national sovereignty as embodied in the United Nations. The post Soviet Russians continue to believe that “might makes right” and reject the post WW2 victory of democracy over totalitarianism.
Just like the defeat of the south after the Civil War in the US, the totalitarians in Europe refused to accept the result of the their defeat in 1945.