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When 2022 began, Vladimir Putin's Russia was fighting a slow but deadly war with Ukraine—a war to restore what Putin believed was Russia's historically legitimate empire. In the slow war, the Kremlin could control the level of battlefield violence and gauge the economic costs. For example, Russia could slowly destroy Ukraine's eastern provinces and largely slip international political and economic sanctions.
As 2023 begins Vlad's Russia is locked in a grinding war that Russia is definitely not winning—and arguably, Ukraine is.
What a difference a year makes?
At the very obvious level of Russia versus Ukraine, the answer is yes. Russia is paying enormous costs in lives and rubles for Putin's megalomania and misjudgments. I discussed both in last week's column....