"What is Putin thinking?"

Now "what?" but "how?" With fear and death.

"What is Putin thinking?"  This is an attractive way of posing the question about Russian military operations.  It simplifies, because it allows us to focus on one person.  It is engaging, because we can never know.  Putin and his observers can be satisfied with such a framing: Putin because it lends him the spotlight he needs to play his shadow games, …