Putin’s ultimate aim is to seal Russia off from the west

President Vladimir Putin has not only doubled down on his war of aggression in Ukraine but mapped a course for domestic politics, the economy and culture that reaffirms his goal of achieving a decisive break between Russia and the west.

Putin’s state of the nation speech on Tuesday offered no hope that he would wind down the war, now entering its second year, or retreat from his ambition of carving up the Ukrainian state.