When I first met Vladimir Putin more than 20 years ago, he was advocating enthusiastically for closer ties between Russia and the West. In the years that followed, it seemed those closer ties could in fact be possible. The Obama administration pursued a US-Russia “reset,” Russian President Dmitry Medvedev led a transatlantic PR offensive, and Russian gas poured into Europe.
The naivete that marked our efforts to deepen ties with Russia is now obvious. Putin meddles in our elections, sabotages our infrastructure, and has spent nearly three years engaged in a full-scale war against Ukraine. But his intentions were clear far earlier than February 24, 2022.
Writing a decade ago, I argued that Putin’s first war in Ukraine was, at its core, a clash of values. We see now that our half-hearted response to his invasion of Crimea in 2014 was a turning point for Putin. He sensed then that when push came to shove, our democratic resolve would falter.
As we mark the grim third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we must remember that Putin’s war is ultimately about democracy – and about our collective will to fight for it. In 2014, our failure to do so had consequences. In 2025, must we not repeat that historic mistake.– Anders Fogh Rasmussen, February 2025
Russian authorities recently threatened to aim nuclear missiles at Danish warships if Denmark joins NATO’s missile-defense system. This was obviously an outrageous threat against a country that has no intention of attacking Russia. But it also reflects a more fundamental factor in the Kremlin’s foreign policy: desperation to maintain Russia’s strategic influence at a time of unprecedented challenges to its authority.
The naivete that marked our efforts to deepen ties with Russia is now obvious. Putin meddles in our elections, sabotages our infrastructure, and has spent nearly three years engaged in a full-scale war against Ukraine. But his intentions were clear far earlier than February 24, 2022.
Writing a decade ago, I argued that Putin’s first war in Ukraine was, at its core, a clash of values. We see now that our half-hearted response to his invasion of Crimea in 2014 was a turning point for Putin. He sensed then that when push came to shove, our democratic resolve would falter.
As we mark the grim third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we must remember that Putin’s war is ultimately about democracy – and about our collective will to fight for it. In 2014, our failure to do so had consequences. In 2025, must we not repeat that historic mistake.– Anders Fogh Rasmussen, February 2025
Russian authorities recently threatened to aim nuclear missiles at Danish warships if Denmark joins NATO’s missile-defense system. This was obviously an outrageous threat against a country that has no intention of attacking Russia. But it also reflects a more fundamental factor in the Kremlin’s foreign policy: desperation to maintain Russia’s strategic influence at a time of unprecedented challenges to its authority.