By taking the New Year’s call from Vladimir Zelensky, Vladimir Putin hopes to deepen the split between those like the Ukrainian president who feel they must come hat in hand to the master in the Kremlin and those who have been fighting for five years against Putin’s efforts to occupy and destroy Ukraine, Vitaly Portnikov says.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
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Paul Goble: By taking Zelensky’s calls, Putin hopes to spark a civil war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a ceremony welcoming Ukrainians, who were freed by Russia-backed militants during a prisoner exchange, at the Boryspil airport outside Kyiv on Dec. 29, 2019.
