No number of deaths or failed objectives will deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from believing he is winning the war in Ukraine.
In an interview on Sunday afternoon, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Putin knows what is happening in Ukraine but has no doubt that his troops are marching toward victory.
“He believes he is winning the war,” Nehammer said on Meet the Press.
Putin didn’t explain what he thinks victory for Russia looks like, Nehammer said. At most, he continued to claim that the “special operation” in Ukraine is vital for Russia’s national security.
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Although Nehammer said he believes Putin “knows what’s going on in Ukraine,” he is still operating in his own world.
“I think he is now in his own war logic,” Nehammer said. “He thinks the war is necessary for security guarantees for the Russian Federation. He doesn’t trust the international community. He blames the Ukrainians for genocide in the Donbas region.”
Putin’s confidence comes amid a massive shift in battleground strategy in Ukraine. Russian troops pulled back from Kyiv last week and appear to be preparing to stage a wide-ranging battle in the eastern Donbas region.
After U.S. and world leaders expressed skepticism last week that Putin might follow through on his threats of using a nuclear weapon, Nehammer appeared to express the same doubt while emphasizing the threat.
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“I think he knows that he has this weapon, and he knows the threat of this weapon,” he said. “I don’t know if he’ll really use it. But he knows he can threaten the world with this weapon.”
