Encourage Defections Among Soldiers and Diplomats (Stephen E. Biegun and David J. Kramer)
In the month since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, policymakers and analysts have stressed the lengths to which Russian President Vladimir Putin has gone to concentrate power in his own hands. But no matter how tight his control over Russia has become, Putin cannot alter a basic reality: his ability to carry out his war on Ukraine and his crackdown at home depends on the readiness of Russian troops, police, security officials, and others to follow his orders. If they stop doing so, Putin is finished.