Is Putin's Goal to Seize Ukraine's Energy Riches?

ANALYSIS – Ever since Russia began massing forces near Ukraine several months ago, like many others, I have been engaged in discussions with various senior military leaders and strategists pondering what Vladimir Putin’s end game might be.

Some believed he was blustering to gain some minor concessions from Ukraine, such as a ‘no-NATO’ neutrality pledge, or pledge to not base offensive weapons. Others thought he was positioning for a minor incursion to teach Ukraine a lesson and gain more control over the eastern breakaway regions nominally under Moscow’s thumb.

A variation of this last option was my preferred choice, but I also believed Putin was intent on protecting his 2014 conquest of Crimea to the south and permanently blocking Ukraine’s access to the sea.

Few believed his ‘Plan A’ would be to launch a massive attack that would bombard cities and try to take Kyiv in a potential decapitation of Ukraine’s political leadership

And then he invaded, and many believed they knew what his ‘Plan A’ was – to forcibly occupy Ukraine.

But maybe his real goal was something different.

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https://americandefensenews.com/2022/04/01/maybe-crazy-putins-plan-b-was-plan-a-all-along-steal-ukraine-energy-riches/