Why Did He Have to Change the Constitution?

Journalist Julia Ioffe recently sat down with producer Mike Wiser for the March 2022 FRONTLINE documentary “Putin’s Road to War.” In this episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, we hear an excerpt of that interview, in which Ioffe discusses Russian President Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine and how he, and the world, reached this tipping point.

“What he has opened up with this invasion is unthinkable,” Ioffe tells FRONTLINE. “And because he is losing, and because the sanctions and the Ukrainians are humiliating him, because he is backed into a corner, he is the most dangerous he has ever been, because it is now existential for him.”

Julia Ioffe is an American journalist who was born in Russia. She is a writer for and a founding partner of the media company Puck. She previously reported on politics and world affairs for the Atlantic and other publications. This interview, conducted on March 3, 2022, has been edited for clarity and length.

“Putin's Road to War” premieres Tuesday, March 15 on PBS and will be available to stream on FRONTLINE’s website, the PBS Video app and FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel.

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