Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
Chrystia Freeland: Putin’s goal is to dismember Ukraine
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the Closing Ceremony of the XI Paralympic Olympic games at the Fisht Olympic Stadium near the city of Sochi on March 16, 2014. AFP PHOTO/KIRILL KUDRYAVTSE
Since Vladimir Putin’s invasion, the world has been focused on Crimea and the referendum Russia staged there on Sunday. That is a little odd: the result of the vote, held under bristling gunpoint and with a pair of questions that did not allow for the possibility of the status quo, was as little in doubt as the ballots held in the Soviet era for which the Russian president openly pines. But, of course, this has never been about the Black Sea peninsula.
