The “Coalition of the Willing” is a rather apt name to give to a vast force of military outfits, hardware and troops from the UK, USA and Europe directly on Russia’s border in Ukraine. Of course, whether Russia under Putin would be “willing” to accept such a force directly on his doorstep is another matter.
This all seems a bit forced. What kind of negotiators are dealing with this imbroglio? Do they even understand how the Russians think and do things? Have they even asked the other party (the Russians) what they think about this? It seems not. There are only two ways to deal with Russians: 1. Extreme violence 2. Take away their money.
If Vladimir Putin agrees to this, either he is already dead, or he has literally lost all semblance of sanity.
Dose of reality or a dose of polonium-210 in a cup of tea?
The Western strategy increasingly looks like interpretive dance to me, ya know symbolic movements, vague intent, and applause from people already convinced. Troops on Russia’s border are sold as reassurance yet predictably framed (justified in my book) by Moscow as encirclement. Both readings are true, which is the problem. Deterrence that doubles as validation for your adversary’s narrative isn’t clever it’s self-fulfilling. The real comedy is believing military theatre reduces risk rather than redistributing it. History suggests otherwise…..repeatedly and loudly.