Sweden to Apply for NATO Membership
So let&#x27;s recount what Putin has achieved in the last 3 months:<p>1. Failed to conquer all of Ukraine;<p>2. Failed to capture Kyiv;<p>3. Failed to make meaningful gains in the Donbass;<p>4. Failed to decapitate Ukraine&#x27;s leadership;<p>5. Suffered huge casulaties;<p>6. Done massive damage to the perception of Russia&#x27;s military (and thus the power it can project);<p>7. Done more for NATO solidarity than probably anything else in the last 20 years when previous to this, there wasn&#x27;t a lot as much fervour for NATO;<p>8. Prompted Finland and Sweden to join NATO when previously they were happy being neutral;<p>9. Russia is now subject to broad sanctions where previously Europe was looking to increase gas dependence on Russia (eg Nord Stream 2).<p>So Putin has quite literally achieved nothing. A lot of this was foreseeable too, which is why many (including myself) thought Putin wouldn&#x27;t invade.<p>The question now is what is Putin&#x27;s state of mind? Is he aware of the true position (as in, is he getting accurate assessments and intelligence or just &quot;yes men&quot;)? Does he still think he can &quot;win&quot;? What does &quot;winning&quot; even look like now? A rational person would be looking for a face-saving exit (think &quot;mission accomplished&quot;). I thought that might be occupying the Donbass and negotiating for some autonomy for the region but even that is starting to look out of reach.<p>My concern is that someone cornered like this after making such a huge gamble at terrible cost is capable of doing something even more awful.