Vladimir Putin’s path to Los Angeles 2028 is being cleared as key vote last week goes the way of Russia and Belarus.

A year on from the publication of Carlo Masala’s If Russia Wins, it’s warning about the West’s complacency are more important than ever, says Rainer Zitelmann

One year ago, Carlo Masala, the renowned German professor of security and defence policy, completed his book “Wenn Russland gewinnt” (“If Russia Wins”). Unfortunately, the book, which is meant as a warning, is today more relevant than ever. In Germany, it reached number one on the bestseller list.

Masala does not sketch an apocalyptic vision of a Third World War, nor a scenario of a large-scale Russian attack on Europe. In his view, a Russian victory in the Ukraine war already exists if Russia is able to retain the territory it currently occupies. In his scenario, he assumed that a de facto dictated peace would allow Russia to keep 20 per cent of Ukraine. The West deceives itself into believing that the annexation would not be recognized under international law, while in Russia champagne corks are popping and victory is being celebrated – such is the scenario.

But does it stop there? Many people in the West today console........

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