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Foreign Affairs

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TexasTowelie

(122,571 posts)
Mon Aug 18, 2025, 12:27 AM Aug 18

Putin's Body Fails as His Caspian Sanctuary Collapses - Jason Jay Smart [View all]



The sinking of a Russian ship in the Caspian is not an isolated event. It is a fatal symptom of a system in collapse, a regime rotting from the inside out, led by a man whose body now mirrors his failing state.

Moscow sold the Caspian as an untouchable sanctuary, a safe backyard insulated from the war. That illusion was destroyed by a Ukrainian drone, proving no harbor is safe and that Russia's strategic depth has vanished. This is more than a military loss; it is a psychological shockwave rippling through the Kremlin's elite.

From Kyiv, the signs of this "Brezhnevization" converge. We see Putin, swollen and visibly trembling, relaunching 2022 ultimatums as if time does not exist. While his propaganda projects strength, Ukrainian strikes have crippled nearly a fifth of Russia's oil refining capacity, strangling the regime's financial arteries.

This is the story of a failing system. A shrinking ruler, a hollowing military, and a deep rot that can no longer be hidden. The collapse is not coming: it is already underway.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Putin cannot stand without trembling
00:43 Moscow's neighbors have turned on it
07:30 Thank you for your generosity
08:31 Putin is shaking strongly
13:34 Protests in Serbia
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