This operation showed: in modern warfare there are no longer any “untouchables”. If even one element of the security system fails, the consequences for the top can be fatal. Point-to-point intelligence, technology, coordination – all this changes the rules of the game.
For Vladimir Putin, this is a signal. The Russian model of power is based on personal control and balance of power groups. Any hint of vulnerability of the first person triggers internal turbulence. That is why we see a nervous reaction, increased rhetoric about “external conspiracy” and demonstrative escalation.
The main thing: fear at the top is already a factor of strategic influence. Authoritarian systems fear not only external shock, but also internal disintegration. And the Kremlin understands this well.
