Putin’s war is going really well, according to Putin

This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a shrinking circle of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here. War is normal, according to Putin (and hi [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a shrinking circle of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - [War is normal](, according to Putin ([and history](). - The [UFO media frenzy]( began in 1947. - India has [an infrastructure issue](. - We may have hit [peak food price](. Putin’s Ego Is 200 Years In the Making It’s been a year since Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to launch what he called “a special military operation” in Ukraine. For a minute there, [we weren’t sure what to call it](. An attack? An invasion? A premeditated assault? Now we routinely refer to it as “[the war in Ukraine](.” But after 12 months of the most intense bloodshed this century has witnessed, James Stavridis says the [“War of Putin’s Ego”]( would be be more accurate. For Russia, getting devastated in war is as traditional as chasing a shot of vodka down with [pickled herring](. Yet 200 years of one battle after the next — Napoleon’s invasion, the Crimean War, the battle of Stalingrad, to name a few — didn’t give Putin, an [egomaniacal narcissist](, any pause. He needed more destruction, and Ukraine was the perfect place to finally exact revenge for the collapse of the Soviet Union. But as we all know, this war is not going according to plan. Putin is down about 200,000 soldiers. He’s burned through thousands of tanks. And he’s inspired 800,000 Russians to head for the exits. “Hundreds of thousands – if not millions – will die” because of his wicked crimes, James [writes](. Morale is low, and [the message]( he’s sending to his people — “just live with it! *shrug emoji*” — is beyond grim, Leonid Bershidsky writes. After a year of sanctions, Russia is operating on an [emptying economic tank](. To claim this is “[business as normal](” is truly unhinged behavior. Putin is [practically begging]( Chinese President Xi Jinping — who plans to visit Russia this spring — to throw him a bone (in the form of missiles and tanks). If his attempts at [simping]( actually work, Andreas Kluth warns “[we may be entering a new era in international relations](,” where three distinct camps (“the West,” “the East” and the “global South”) battle it out, Cold War-style. But after a year of fighting, are we any closer to understanding who will come out of this war on top? James and Leonid agree that no one really knows (and those who claim they do are ignoring “the tower of variables at play”). Biden’s surprise trip to Kyiv has [drawn the ire]( of radical Republicans like [Marjorie Taylor Greene](, [to the detriment of the overall party](, Jonathan Bernstein writes. But the US backing of Ukraine is the most crucial element of survival. “Putin increasingly behaves like Stalin — an all-powerful, maximalist, ruthless leader with a shrinking circle of supporters,” James writes. To win the war against Putin’s ego will require persistence and unwavering support. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take 200 more years to topple Russia’s delicate inferiority complex. Bonus Russia Reading: [Germany wants to cut its dependence on Russian oil](, but Kazakhstan’s crude still flows through Siberia. — Julian Lee Magic Beans and Aliens So! “THEY THREW BEANS ON HIM” was trending on Twitter today: You probably have [many questions](. Why throw beans? Who is he??? Well, according to knowyourmeme.com (basically [Wikipedia for memes](), the phrase comes from “a fake Christian film presumably about a boy whose [arms are replaced with crucifixes]( and is mocked by his peers for it.” It sounds insane because it is. But this is how conspiracy theories start. Someone takes a photo. Another person edits it on Photoshop. A different person posts it [with no context](, years later. People start to [question]( whether it is real. And boom! They threw [beans]( on him. It all makes sense. [UFOs have followed a similar trajectory](, Stephen Mihm writes. In 1947, a man named Kenneth Arnold spotted nine flying objects near Mount Rainier in Washington. He reported it to aviation officials. The officials told the news wires. Bored reporters told the public. And [boom](! Little green men! Flying saucers!! The newspapers “misunderstood and misquoted me,” Arnold complained. But that didn’t stop Ella Fitzgerald from [singing]( about aliens with “little green antennas.” [Read the whole thing](. Telltale Charts Take one look at the Adani Group meltdown and you’ll see [a mirror image of what’s ailing India as a whole](. Narendra Modi’s people are hungry for “nicer airports, wider roads, faster rail journeys, more efficient ports, more reliable power supply and cleaner air,” Andy Mukherjee writes. But they’re not able to pay what those infrastructure improvements require, leading to a major mismatch in capital: Nobody likes spending half a paycheck on Kerrygold butter and a dozen eggs. Will inflation ever slow its roll? Andrea Felsted says [the worst grocery store price increases may soon be behind us](, but Richard Cookson disagrees, arguing that [the slowdown is a temporary head-fake](. China certainly has a head start on the whole install-robots-to-take-over-the-world plot, but [it’s going to need more than machines]( to make swift technological gains and giant productivity leaps, Anjani Trivedi writes. You still need people to train all those the robots: Further Reading Half of America’s students are below their grade level in at least one subject, but [their parents are unaware](. — Bloomberg’s editorial board One startup’s medical breakthrough could become [a game-changer for Crispr delivery](. — Lisa Jarvis [The EV battery recycling boom]( is getting way ahead of itself. — Adam Minter [An anti-ESG fund manager]( is running for president. — Liam Denning Rich people do not want to see [public housing projects]( next to their penthouses. — Shuli Ren [Bond yields]( have become way too bearish, way too fast. — Marcus Ashworth Uhhhh: If a SPAC returned money to shareholders, [can it ask for that money back?]( — Matt Levine ICYMI More colleges [are closing](. [Historic snowfall]( is on the way. Apple’s [latest moonshot]( is huge. The Supreme Court is [self-aware](. Bill Gates is [a Heineken guy](. Kickers Cocaine bear, [meet cannabis raccoon](. [Calvin and Hobbes]( fans, rejoice! Venice’s canals [have run dry](. The happiest Americans [live here](. Paul Rudd helped [a dog get adopted](. Notes:  Please send pickled herring and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022