Op-ed by Pawel Markiewicz, Executive Director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs office in the U.S.

If there’s one thing to take away from Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine it is the imperial mindset that is deeply engrained in the psyche of Vladimir Putin and the majority of Russia’s elite – an imperial mindset that in-turn is projected onto the lower levels of society. Putin has also made it clear that any resolution to the conflict launched in Ukraine in 2022 must hinge on drastically limiting or completely removing troops from NATO member states along the alliance’s eastern flank – a region of Europe closest to Russia’s borders where allies, like Poland, have dramatically increased their defence spending in hopes of deterring any thoughts of future Russian aggression.