While President Trump was “all by myself in the White House” over Christmas, watching the “guys out on the lawn with machine guns,” Russia’s Vladimir Putin seemed to be contemplating another war with Ukraine. While his top aides issued threatening statements, the Ukrainian government and some Western observers warned of suspicious movements of Russian aircraft and equipment. The Institute for the Study of War reported on Dec. 23 that “the data suggests Putin is preparing to attack.” Analyst Michael Kofman of the Wilson Center judged an invasion unlikely but concluded that “Moscow is looking to bloody Ukraine at the first available opportunity.”
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Jackson Diehl: Trump leaves America’s allies on their own
The lights temporarily go out in the Cabinet Room as U.S. President Donald Trump talks about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with House Republicans at the White House on July 17, 2018 in Washington, DC.
