On the subject of suspense, filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock once advised: “Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.”
It feels as if Vladimir Putin has been watching a lot of Hitchcock.
For months the Russian leader has been keeping the world guessing. Will he or won’t he launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine? Is he or is he not planning to demolish the post-Cold War security order in Europe?
His decision to recognise the independence of two breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine took many by surprise.
But what will President Putin’s next move be?
“Suspense is Putin’s favourite tool,” says Lilia Shevtsova, author of the book Putin’s Russia.
“If he retains his mental logic, he won’t attempt a full invasion. But he has a variety of possible actions available to him, such as cyber-attacks and squeezing Ukraine economically like a boa constrictor. A Russian military incursion to seize the whole of Donetsk and Luhansk regions is also possible. He will be like a cat playing with mice.”
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60497653
