Loooong before that. Russia reclaiming Alaska has been trope there since at least 2000 when I lived there, probably even longer. There was even a popular song about Russia reclaiming it in heavy rotation on the radio. Basically, once vast deposits of oil were discovered there Russian nationalists have been grousing about the terrible deal the Tsar made in selling it.
The “Russia has no borders” is an extension of Putin’s “foreign policy” that states Russia will protect Russians wherever they may be. It’s been his justification to invade nearby territories and conduct other military adventures. And since Russians have emigrated to just about everywhere, it means Putin could use this as justification to invade, say, Brazil, if he were that crazy.
What more, military equipment is expensive. Russia’s economy is about the size of Florida’s, and they have chewed through so much equipment, it will take at least a decade to rebuild to pre-Ukraine levels. Meanwhile, anyone they might want to menace is going to upgrade their equipment and tactics to respond to whatever he might think of doing next.
In short, even if he wins in Ukraine, he’s already lost.
Putin has maybe a decade, tops, left on his rotting meat suit before it expires and his fetid empire collapses in the power vacuum. Maybe he wants to go out with a world ending bang? Who knows? Regardless, we should absolutely act like the Russian nuclear fleet can get at least 1% of their arsenal to their targets.
That’s still enough to murder ~100 million people in 30 minutes.
However, that doesn’t really scare me all that much. What does scare me is the thought of a fully operational Fascist GOP getting full control of the US war machine. Putin is an evil, brutal, psychopathic dictator.
That, there, is Grade A trolleying by Zelensky.
Every time he can raise Putin’s blood pressure a notch is one more step towards a stroke or heart attack.
I suspect that if Putin had been alive during the Revolution, he’d have been on the side of the Whites, not a Red… I think he was in the KGB not because he believed in the Communist cause, but because he gained power over others.
