Of Narcissism And Ukraine

Apparently, there are two types of narcissists.

Neither is all that appealing.

Trump seems to be both.

And he has company.

From MindWar:

A quick read.

Where Is the Will to Win in Ukraine?

Certainly not in the Republican Party or its leader — who is now not a fake wrestling hall of fame inductee but also inaugural winner of the world soccer federation peace prize (see: “vulnerable narcissism,” above).

At terrible cost to his own people — and to ours, really — Putin is winning.

Or is he?

From The Guardian:

Putin should have accepted Trump’s deal. Now Russia’s collapsing economy could lead to his downfall

His war of choice in Ukraine is an economic, financial, geopolitical and human calamity for Russia that worsens by the day. For his own murky reasons, Donald Trump, another national menace, offered him a lifeline last week. Yet Putin spurned it. These two fools deserve each other.

. . . The Trump deal, if forced through, would have split the US and Europe; ruptured Nato, perhaps fatally; reprieved Russia’s pariah economy; and probably toppled Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government.

These are key Russian war aims. But Putin, suffering from neo-imperial fantasies and legacy issues, said “no”. He reckons he can get it all, and more, by fighting on.

. . . Putin’s economic ruination of Russia, though still a work in progress, is matched by plummeting geopolitical influence. Bogged down in Ukraine, Moscow could only watch as Syria, a prized Middle East ally, turned to the west and Iran came under US and Israeli attack. Now Venezuela, too, looks in vain for support. Ties with China have been upended, with a humiliated Russia relegated to the role of dependent junior partner. Visiting India last week, Putin cut a needy figure in a country that, following US pressure, now boycotts Russian oil.

The “Russia is winning” narrative hinges on supposed battlefield successes. Yuri Ushakov, one of Putin’s aides, claimed recent territorial advances “positively impacted” the Moscow talks – meaning they strengthened Russia’s hand. That’s delusional. The gains are marginal. Despite his surprise, full-scale invasion and overwhelming advantages in manpower and materiel, Putin has utterly failed to subjugate Ukraine – a failure measured in shocking Russian casualty figures: more than 280,000 killed or injured in the first eight months of 2025; about one million in total.

How much longer will the Russian people tolerate their mass-murderer dictator-president – the Salisbury poisoner, the indicted war criminal – who, refusing all peace overtures, is now threatening war with Europe? This question is key. Putin’s readiness to risk the lives and wellbeing of ordinary Russians is only too evident, symbolised by the cynical signing-up fees and death benefits paid to infantry volunteers from poor rural areas – whose average frontline life expectancy is 12 days. Adding insult to injury, pay-outs have been slashed due to budget cuts.

. . . The Russian nation is too big to fail. Its proud history of struggle shows it cannot be beaten. But Putin can. He’s losing, not winning. And sooner or later, like the tsars and totalitarians of old, that same eternal Russia whose name he glorifies will chew him up and spit him out.

If only the U.S. — and the Republican Party — were still on the side of democracy and freedom. And a world order that forbade one country to invade another.

Worth reading in full.

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