In a dangerous international game of chicken, Vladimir Putin is swerving directly toward a wider conflict, daring the West to follow through on its plan to deploy troops in Ukraine. His threat to attack any such forces is a high-risk maneuver designed to force his opponents to back down.
The “road” is a French-led proposal, supported by 26 nations, to establish a postwar security presence in Ukraine. For Kyiv, this is the path to safety. For Putin, it’s a collision course, and he has made it clear he will not be the one to swerve.
The Russian leader is betting that the West will lose its nerve. He knows that the coalition is not unified, with key players like Germany already indicating they will pull over rather than risk a head-on crash. This has already weakened the Western position.
This high-stakes game is being played because the normal rules of diplomacy have been abandoned. With the peace process in ruins, the conflict is being governed by raw power and a willingness to escalate, pushing the world into increasingly perilous territory.