In the years since the Trump-Russia investigation began, it has become clear what Putin was trying to accomplish by interfering in the American election to help Trump. He is determined rebuilding the Russian empireOn a similar scale to the Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. He has been steadily working on his imperial project since consolidating power in Moscow in the early 2000s, and has already sabotaged attempts to build democracy in Belarus, helping to install a pro-Russian dictator there. – We are running a campaign to do the same in Georgia.

Its main target now is Ukraine, a democracy eager to join the European Union and NATO.

Putin surprised the West by suddenly seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and launched an operation in 2022. Full-scale invasion of UkraineA brutal war that has already cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Putin could never forget Russia’s defeat in the Cold Warand his ambition is to make Russia a true superpower once again. This means that the reconquest of former Soviet republics such as Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine is only the first part of his long-term plan. Putin also wants to regain control of the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which were once part of the Soviet Union, and eventually expand Moscow’s sphere of influence over Poland, former Warsaw Pact satellite states in Eastern Europe. , Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Czech Republic and Slovakia. If he stays in power long enough, he might even get the big prize: taking back the part of Germany that was once East Germany. All this may sound like an exaggeration, but it has only been 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall; During this period, Putin was a young KGB officer stationed in East Germany and had to watch the Soviet empire crumble around him.

Putin’s ambitions require him to ensure that the United States does not try to prevent him from rebuilding his empire. That’s why he tried to help Trump and create harmful political chaos in America. opposes US involvement NATO and Ukraine and someone who has proven to be easily manipulated by the Russian dictator. At the same time, Putin has tried to interfere in elections in Western Europe by supporting far-right extremists who oppose European support for Ukraine.

Putin’s efforts have been aided by the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States and Europe; Christian fundamentalists see Putin as follows: champions in the global culture war. They see Ukraine as an ally of the liberal and secular European Union and therefore want Putin to win the war.

Trump will likely align with the Christian nationalists who are a significant part of his base and side with Putin against Ukraine. This would represent the final outcome of Putin’s decade-long effort to install Trump in the White House.

Trump and his aides to hide the truth about Trump’s ties to Putin and Russia pro-Trump experts They all worked hard to convince voters that they were not in Putin’s pocket. A key part of this effort was a long-running propaganda campaign designed to convince the public that the original Trump-Russia investigation was a hoax. Trump then used this argument to try to discredit all other investigations into his actions. Two charges against four criminal complaints.

To muddy the waters, they focused on the Steele dossier, prepared by a former British intelligence officer and made public after the 2016 election. Trump pointed out the flaws in the Steele dossier and claimed that the entire Trump-Russia investigation was based on false information. But this is not true; Steele file Was not the basis for the FBI’s decision with open the case and played no part in the main investigation; Special counsel Robert Mueller, who took over the investigation from the FBI in 2017, had no confidence in the Steele dossier.

Trump’s efforts to discredit the Trump-Russia investigation were aided by his own attorney general, William Barr. previously made misleading statements He was briefed on the findings of Mueller’s investigation before his final report was made public and was subsequently appointed to the position Pro-Trump special advisor To investigate the government’s own investigation into the Trump-Russia case. HE openly politicized The effort failed spectacularly.

No amount of disinformation can now hide the truth about the Trump-Russia case. The truth is staring us in the face. It can be seen in the dead of Ukraine.