This is CBSI in the world. I'm John Batch with my colleague, Anatole Leven of the

Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. One year later, we're looking at the war

aims of two camps. The American and NATO war aim is mixed. Do not touch Crimea. And by

the way, we are ready to support Ukraine all the way. However, the Moscow point of view,

the Kremlin point of view requires some explication because Mr. Putin's speech to the Russian people

on television said that Russia was defending itself from a NATO attack. Therefore, what

does Russia's war aim look like? And I told this combines the concern about the New

Star Treaty, which is nuclear arms control, just arms control in general, to the case that

it has been talked about for years, that NATO in encroaching on Russia's frontier did

the very thing it promised not to do at the end of the Cold War, and that Russia has been

under attack for some time. Is that the opinion in Moscow? Because I note that the headlines

today suggest that there are a large number of Russian people who support that position.

When does Russia believe the war started?

Well, I mean, this is a complex issue and has different layers. Because of course, I mean,

at one level, Putin is simply lying to the Russian people in order to cover up his own responsibility

for a war which has gone very badly. And in reality, this war has gone very badly for

Russia. Russia has not achieved any of its chief goals in Ukraine. Has been fought to

a standstill in just one corner of the country, and of course has suffered huge losses of

men killed and wounded. So of course, Putin has the strongest possible motive to say that

I didn't start the war on the 24th of February last year, which he did, but this was much

older. But undoubtedly, I mean, this does play into a wider narrative, which does greatly

and you have a tremendous hold on the Russian establishment and many ordinary Russians and

...