Bill Browder, a former top investor in Russia before Putin turned on him, says that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is driven by his need to survive.

Western pressure on Russia hasn’t stopped Putin’s latest provocations. ‘Provocations’ is a word commonly used by Russians when their English fails them ~ Analysis by Maeve Reston of CNN

(CNN)The US took new steps to ratchet up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday — announcing new economic sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine on the same day that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other finance ministers walked out of a G20 summit in Washington in protest once Russia’s delegate began his remarks.

Those moves were rich with symbolism about Western intentions to keep tightening the vise around Russia’s economy as the US and its allies try to isolate Putin on the world stage. But they looked feeble against the backdrop of Putin’s provocative test launch of Russia’s new intercontinental ballistic missile and the allies’ inability to save civilians as the latest evacuation attempts from Mariupol collapsed Wednesday.