“The Malaysia Airlines disaster seems to have put Putin in a zugzwang, the German chess term beloved by Russian political scientists that signifies a situation in which any move will weaken a player’s position,” Alec Luhn of Foreign Policy writes. Russian-backed separatists are suspected of shooting down Malaysia Flight MH17 on July 17, killing all 298 people on board. Moscow has continued supporting the rebels, many of whom are Russian, since the incident. Luhn explains that Putin currently faces two unappealing choices: continue backing pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine with weapons and training, thereby incurring biting sanctions from the West, …read more
Source: Business Insider