The Daily Putin’s Endgame: A Conversation With Fiona Hill
Mar 11, 2022
Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a veteran adviser to three U.S. presidents, shares her insights on Vladimir Putin and the ongoing Ukraine conflict. She discusses how Putin’s perceptions of the West impact his decisions. Hill highlights the tragic humanitarian situation in cities like Mariupol and the influence of rising inflation in the U.S. She also examines President Zelensky's evolving leadership and the complexities of negotiating peace, while stressing the need for a deeper understanding of Ukrainian identity in these turbulent times.
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Putin's Mindset
- Fiona Hill suggests Putin is a strategic thinker with goals like rolling back NATO and asserting Russia's global standing.
- She highlights Putin's personalized view of the state, blurring lines between his ambitions and Russia's.
Putin's View of the West
- Putin believes the West, specifically the US, seeks regime change in Russia, fueling his paranoia.
- He interprets Western actions through a historical lens of perceived threats and attempts to undermine Russia.
Denial of Agency
- Putin denies agency to Ukraine and other former Soviet states, believing Western influence manipulates them.
- Hill argues this negates the aspirations of these nations to choose their own alliances and futures.