Today, in Kazakhstan, Putin once again promoted his missiles – his readiness to kill and destroy.

To the thousands of missiles that have already struck Ukraine, Putin clearly wants to add thousands more. He has no interest in ending this war. Moreover, Putin wants to prevent others from ending this war. 

By wagging his ‘oreshnik’ now he is aiming solely to disrupt the efforts of President Trump that are sure to follow his inauguration. Putin wants to escalate the situation now so that President Trump fails to end the war. 

Putin is the only culprit in this war and the only one who believes in war. That is why Putin's escalation now is a form of pressure aimed at eventually forcing the President of the United States to accept Russia’s terms.