The decision to invade Ukraine was not made by Putin alone; instead, he was surrounded in a bunker by a very small number of people including Yuri Kovalchuk, whose father came from Ukraine, and who was perhaps not the originator but definitely a supporter of the invasion idea.

factualpending

Speaker

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Evidence Quote

“he was sitting in his bunker with a very very small number of people he would communicate with one of these people was yurikovalchuk foreign whose father actually comes from Nika live in Ukraine is perhaps not the author necessarily of the intervention in Ukraine but at least a supporter of that idea very much sir”

Source

How The West Can Stop Putin, with Exiled Critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky | Intelligence Squared— Intelligence Squared
Created: 8/10/2026, 10:56:34 PM

My Notes

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