Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual marathon press conference is perhaps best summarized as a mashup of a municipal board meeting and geopolitical talkfest. The Kremlin leader makes sweeping pronouncements about the current global order, interspersed with small-bore questions from local journalists about the quality of roads in the Komi Republic.
But this year’s direct-line event comes on the heels of Europe throwing a $105 billion lifeline to Ukraine in the form of an interest-free loan to keep Kyiv in the fight against Moscow.
While Brussels stopped short of enacting a controversial proposal to divert billions in frozen Russian assets held in Europe to Ukraine, the loan quite literally gives…
