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The Battle of Bakhmut has become a puzzle for Western analysts: why has Russia spent so much on a city so apparently irrelevant? This video examines the possibility of Putin's domestic constraints. If Putin believes that the status quo will leave his tenure in doubt, then he needs to press forward to maximize the chances he survives in office. Thus, he is willing to continue fighting in places where an objective leader might not. Bakhmut has become the target in particular because the alternative places to mount an offensive are even less attractive.
Media licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/):
By Ministry of Defense of Ukraine:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ministryofdefenceua/26344722824
Media licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/):
By Ministry of Defense of Ukraine:
https://armyinform.com.ua/2022/12/07/herson-pid-vorozhymy-obstrilamy/
By Kremlin.ru:
http://tours.kremlin.ru/tour/senate/159/
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/53857
http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/press_conferences/56378
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/57416
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/60490
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/60495
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/61584
http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/62983
http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67514
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67828
http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67829
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/68605
http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69381
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69366
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69390
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69465
http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70098
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70159
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70576
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71006
http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71146
http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71187
