Daniel Davis Deep Dive Merch: Etsy store https://www.etsy.com/shop/DanielDavisDeepDive?ref=seller-platform-mcnav Putin Is Not Winning Underestimating the Russian leader is dangerous, but ascribing dark powers to him plays right into his hands. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/10/overestimating-putin-russia-ukraine-war/684518/ Larry Johnson argues that U.S. leaders and commentators are delusional about the state of the Ukraine war. He says the U.S. can’t produce enough artillery to sustain Ukraine for even a month, while Russia has superior manpower and has destroyed much of Ukraine’s power grid—leaving only 6% of Russian missiles intercepted by U.S.-supplied Patriot systems. He mocks Western analysts and media like The Atlantic for claiming Russia is losing, calling it “ignorant, arrogant nonsense.” He says Russia is advancing steadily across multiple fronts while Ukraine struggles to respond. By contrast, he points to U.S. failures in Afghanistan and Yemen (against the Houthis) as proof of America’s declining military credibility. The speaker insists that Russia’s campaign is run by its military, not Putin personally, and that Western narratives personalizing the conflict misunderstand how Russia operates. He also claims life inside Russia is stable—no gas shortages, inflation under control—and that Western portrayals of economic collapse are false. In conclusion, he says Western “tough talk” is hollow, based on false assumptions, and risks provoking a conflict the U.S. cannot win.