Ross: The lesson from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is clear

Overnight we saw tanks cross the border into Ukraine from the north, there were explosions at airports and military sites, and then video of a line of tanks calmly crossing Ukraine’s northern border unopposed.

In the city of Kharkiv, CNN’s Clarissa Ward read the mayor’s message to his constituents:

“This is coming from the mayor of Kharkiv,” she reported. “It says, ‘Dear citizens, please do not leave your homes today. Due to the complicated situation, schools, kindergartens, other institutions will not be operational today until the situation becomes clearer. Public transport will work as usual, and I will keep you informed of what is happening and the action of city authorities.'”

No attempt to call out the militia, as the tanks rolled in despite the United States exposing everything that Putin was up to, exposing his troop movements, publishing the satellite photos, and warning about the false flag attacks. We got it right, and it didn’t matter.

The lesson here is pretty clear – public shaming only works with leaders who care about their image, and who have to get voters to like them in order to stay in office.

Putin keeps himself in office by arresting or murdering the opposition. It’s much more efficient because it avoids the awkwardness of a concession speech, and ensures the efficient transfer of power from Putin, to Putin.

Once we said NATO troops wouldn’t enter Ukraine, Putin had all the information he needed.

So now, Ukraine’s choice is to fight back and risk seeing its cities destroyed, or treat the Russians like tourists, open the cities, and start selling them refreshments.

Unless they fight and win, a string of NATO members who used to be part of the old Soviet Union will find themselves staring across their borders at the Russian Army, hoping that the NATO umbrella can hold back a new Iron Curtain.

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