Putin is NOT crazy and the Russian invasion is NOT failing. The West's delusions about this war – and its failure to understand the enemy – will prevent it

Wishful thinking has the upper hand in the battle to shape Western perceptions of the war in Ukraine.

Sympathy for the outnumbered and outgunned defenders of Kyiv has led to the exaggeration of Russian setbacks, misunderstanding of Russian strategy, and even baseless claims from amateur psychoanalysts that Putin has lost his mind.
 
A more sober analysis shows that Russia may have sought a knockout blow, but always had well-laid plans for follow-on assaults if its initial moves proved insufficient.
 
The world has underestimated Putin before and those mistakes have led, in part, to this tragedy in Ukraine.
 
We must be clear-eyed now that the war is underway.