From a Washington Post column by Michael Vickers headlined “What Putin’s top aides need to tell him today”:

Michael Vickers, a former CIA officer, played a key role in supporting the Afghan resistance during the 1980s. He was undersecretary of defense for intelligence from 2011 to 2015.

Imagine yourself today in the unenviable shoes of Vladimir Putin’s national security aides, charged with briefing the Russian president on his options roughly one week into his disastrous Ukraine invasion.