Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is turning into an epic disaster–for Russia. Its economy has been severely impaired and the reputation of its military is in tatters. However, that is not the biggest problem Putin’s ill-advised move has created for Mother Russia. He has managed to open the pathway for Germany to recover its lost status as Central Europe’s dominant military power. Before February 24, it was almost unimaginable that Germany would raise its defense outlays to 2% of GDP anytime soon. Now, it is a done deal; not only that, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is creating a $113 billion fund to cover the costs of rearmament, and Germans across the political spectrum are supportive. Considering the challenges Germany’s military machine presented to Russia in the last century, this has to be viewed as an Olympic-scale blunder on Putin’s part. In have written a commentary for Forbes here.
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