He made no claim of victory or “mission accomplished” and no promise that the fight in Ukraine could end soon. Instead Mr. Putin, speaking on Russia’s most important secular holiday, delivered a message for the broader Russian public: that they could keep on living their lives. After many were, Mr. Putin ordered an investigation. But some analysts warned that even if Mr. Putin defied some Western expectations of escalation, the threat remained high in the coming weeks. “He’s at war with the West, so he has to show the West that it must retreat.

Source: New York Times May 09, 2022 20:25 UTC