Opinion

Could this man bring down Putin?

Ilya Ponomarev, a renegade former member of Russia’s parliament, has a provocative idea: He argues that the only way to end the Ukraine war on acceptable terms is through a coup that topples Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Personally, I think Ponomarev’s plan is potentially dangerous for both the United States and Ukraine. A central precept of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, after all, is that countries shouldn’t send military forces across their borders to foment violence. And while his ideas are intriguing, there’s no way to independently confirm some of the claims and assertions he makes.