Tell me this summary of Russia’s disruption and annexation of Crimea doesn’t sound like Trump’s political strategy:
Russia’s interference in Ukraine began in February 2014, after Ukrainian protesters toppled the pro-Kremlin president.
With Ukraine in chaos, Russia deployed a small number of special forces out of uniform to the Crimean Peninsula. The Russian state news media blanketed the region with false reports that Ukrainian neo-Nazis were coming to cleanse Crimea of ethnic Russians, who are a majority there. Local pro-Kremlin groups agitated to secede to Russia.
The Russian forces, posing as local self-defense militias, seized key buildings and transit points, putting the region under an unannounced Russian occupation. A few days later, Mr. Putin sent in regular troops to restore order, as he described it. Crimea held an unmonitored referendum on leaving Ukraine to join Russia, which formally annexed the territory in March. Only a month later did Mr. Putin acknowledge that the “militias” had been Russian troops.
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When Ukraine tried [to retake Crimea] over the summer, the once ragtag separatist rebels were suddenly seen operating heavy weapons systems, including powerful surface-to-air missiles. On July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet was shot down over rebel-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine, killing all 283 people on board.
Western leaders and analysts, furious with what they saw as a reckless Russian policy of arming rebels with equipment they did not know how to use, pushed for Ukraine to retake the rebel-held territory once and for all.
Many people expected that the downing of the plane would so embarrass Moscow that it would have to drop its support for the rebels and agree to peace efforts. Instead, Russia deepened its involvement: Under the cover of an “aid convoy” into Ukraine, Russian troops, tanks and artillery streamed across the border, according to NATO officials.
Lies and disinformation, coupled with angry denials, and doubling-down on even the most transparent of falsehoods. All offered by someone who aggregates power to his person, not his office. No wonder the two seem to get along so well.