During his lengthy press conference following the May 9 Victory Day parade, Vladimir Putin slipped in an almost offhand remark that "the matter is coming to an end" — a phrase Western outlets quickly seized on as a signal that the war in Ukraine may finally be winding down. But was that really what Putin meant? Read in the context of continued nuclear threats on state television, North Korean troops marching across Red Square, and a new Russian law authorizing military intervention to "rescue" citizens abroad, the remark begins to sound less like capitulation and more like its opposite. Is Putin's comment an admission of exhaustion, or a threat of escalation toward the West?

In this episode, Andy Kuchins and Chris Monday unpack how Vladimir Putin and Russian elites understand the world, and how they seek to influence it.

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