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invitation to be here to Union this afternoon this is a terrible time for Ukraine but also for Europe and do that myself for the world this unprovoked premeditated aggression I feel very deeply because I spent four years living and working in Ukraine at the beginning of the two thousands and I still have many friends who I want to just touch very briefly on Four Points one is what's in Putin's mind then the Ukrainian resistance Western resolve and where does it go next we spent a lot of time speculating what is in Putin's mind I think what become increasingly clear is that he is obsessed about Ukraine he has been locked away for much of the last 2 years out of fear of catching covid and I think that has not helped his frame of mind I found the televised meeting of his National Security Council just over a week ago rather telling even very senior people like the head of the foreign intelligence service when nervously rehearse their lines in front of a nuclear that be no process of collective decision-making Putin has this sort of mystical Studio historical view of Russia the Russian World incorporate Ukraine and Belarus which doesn't stand up to historical scrutiny I just certainly not shared by historians in Ukraine but this Obsession goes back suddenly as far as the orange revolution in 2004 is during the time I was in Ukraine when Putin had clearly been complicit in trying to get Viktor Yanukovych into the presidency in a rig election even went as far as going on Ukrainian television off the second round before the official result was announced and saying that Yanukovych has been elected when most Ukrainian BOCES to see that wasn't the case so Putin was was k about time until I think has been deeply unhappy about Ukraine ever since he's made two very serious miscalculations first of all about how the ukrainians would react to his invasion with massed force and what do ukrainians have shown is that they will defend their country that fighting very bravely the band Led very briefly but if all of them are Hellenski huge numbers of ukrainians have volunteered I've got weapons training on that their armed forces are at this moment fig