Putin went for blackmail when he said that the Minsk format was of low efficiency and when he started to withdraw Russian officers from the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) in Donbas, according to Ukrainian MP and leader of Information Resistance information community Dmytro Tymchuk, Apostrophe reports.
According to the expert, it is now important for Putin to maintain the status quo. Through U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker, the Americans are beginning to make impartial proposals, trying to change the situation in the format other than the Kremlin prefers, Apostrophe wrote.
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He stressed that Crimea is a costly endeavor for Putin, the war in Donbas is expensive, sanctions take their toll, as well as international isolation – all these factors together give the opportunity to understand that rough times will come for Russians after the elections.
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That is, Tymchuk says, serious changes in the Kremlin's strategy are expected after the elections in Russia.
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