I'm finding this hypothesis rather lacking in logic.

If Putin is indeed some kind of mastermind capable of geopolitical engineering to generate chaos in Africa and destabilize the west, then such a wise analyst should have also realized overtaking entire Ukraine was not a realistic possibility.

Sorry, Mr. Putin is not that smart.

If I were to use a football analogy, the score is 1-0 and the game is in its last five minutes. The coach of the losing side is moving all its players forward to increase the chance of scoring and tying the game. But this strategy weakens the team's defencive ability. So the winning side also increases its chance of changing the score to 2-0. Yet losing side is making the right change in strategy for it has nothing lose. It won't matter whether the final score is 1-0 or 2-0.

Mr. Putin is making his last play. But the score looks to be 3-0. To me, it looks like he is throwing straws in the wind.

But there's still a lot more drama to be played out here. I would not congratulate Ms. Wildfire on her call.