David Piguet
International Relations Senior, Stabilization & Peacekeeping
French Military Academy of Saint-Cyr – Coëtquidan Доброво́льчий Украї́нський Ко́рпус «Пра́вий се́ктор» (ДУК ПС)
Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine
About David Piguet :
July 9, 2026
THE VILLAIN OF THE 21ST CENTURY?
THE LEGACY OF VLADIMIR PUTIN: A RECORD HISTORY WILL JUDGE.
The young KGB officer in this photograph would become one of the most consequential—and controversial—leaders of the modern era.
Under Vladimir Putin’s rule, russia has waged wars that have devastated entire nations. The human cost extends far beyond the battlefield.
It includes hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, russians, Georgians, Chechens and Syrians killed or wounded in conflicts launched or sustained by the Kremlin.
But the tragedy is measured not only in numbers.
For more than three years, Ukraine has endured the systematic daily targeting of civilians through missile and drone strikes on homes, hospitals, schools, shopping centres and critical infrastructure.
Thousands of Ukrainian children have been deported or forcibly transferred from occupied territories, leading the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants over alleged war crimes.
Thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees have reported systematic torture, executions, sexual violence and inhumane detention, documented by the UN and numerous international human rights organizations.
Ukraine’s cultural identity has also been under attack. Churches, museums, libraries, universities, schools and historical monuments have been destroyed or damaged. The deliberate erasure of a nation’s language, history and heritage has become a defining feature of this war.
Many legal scholars argue that the combination of these acts—including mass deportations, attacks on civilians, destruction of cultural heritage and official rhetoric denying Ukraine’s nationhood—should be examined as evidence of genocidal intent under international law.
Beyond Ukraine, Putin’s legacy is also associated with the assassination or attempted assassination of opponents and defectors, including Alexander Litvinenko in London, Sergei Skripal, Anna Politkovskaya, Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny.
Other events—including the 1999 apartment bombings, the Moscow theatre siege and the Beslan school tragedy—remain the subject of enduring allegations and debate. While responsibility for these events remains disputed, they continue to fuel profound questions about the methods of the Russian state.
History ultimately judges leaders not by the power they accumulate, but by the human consequences of their decisions.
Millions displaced.
Cities destroyed.
Generations traumatized.
A nation fighting not only for its territory, but for its very existence.
Justice must prevail—not out of revenge, but because accountability is the foundation of international law.
History will render its verdict.
Comment from :
From this photo he would have been in his twenties and stationed in East Germany at the time I was stationed in Amberg West Germany with the 3rd of the 2nd armored cavalry regiment guarding the German Czech border from the USSR’s Warsaw Pact forces. The atrocities committed by these forces against the Czech people can be attributed to the KGB that Putin was a part of as a rising KGB officer.
It will be useful to examine his brain and see if we can find out what makes a human being becoming a monster. Is it greed, the desire to be the most powerful one to do what he likes, or to be forever in the history books? Surely he knows he can’t take all his wealth and possessions with him to his grave.
Thanks for this post, David Piguet.
Ukrainians in diaspora, as well as those of us of Ukrainian heritage, have been warning the world about russia, the soviet union, their intent, the history, long before putin came to power. I’ve been around since at least the Cold War.
The West just wouldn’t listen. Unfortunately, this is what it took for the West to realise this, and they’re still fumbling around.
UNBELIEVABLE !
He did what most Russians wanted him to do… As simple as that.
Couldn’t agree more! Such an seemingly endless list of the gravest imaginable crimes. Because of his long period of being in power it’s enormous what putin is guilty off. Outside AND in his own country he committed uncountable atrocities. Together with his clique and vast groups of the population totally brainwashed by decades of propaganda. The Hague is waiting for him and a special court is already being prepared our Dutch prime minister announced in Ankara! Thank you for this most insightful post David!
Another photo of this creature
…………..
A Nation Fighting For Us All.
From my post on 20 September 2024.
JUL 09, 2026
A Nation Fighting For Us All.
Ukraine is not fighting for land, resources or dominance. Ukraine has not invaded another nation. Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk is a strategic move intended to draw forces away from Donbas. For two years Ukraine has operated in self-defence and continues to do so.
Ukraine is fighting for it’s survival. To submit to Russia means the death of the nation. The suggestion of trading land for peace is a death sentence for Ukraine, because Russia will take what it can today and return for more tomorrow. A weak peace now will ensure the inevitable demise of Ukraine.
The only way that the Ukraine/ Russo war can end is with Ukrainian victory and withdrawal of Russian forces from all Ukrainian territory. The only time negotiations are worthy of engagement are when Putin has no choice and seeks terms. Ukraine can only negotiate peace from a position of strength.
Those who believe that life is worth preserving in return for slavery have no idea how pointless life is under the heel of a tyrant. Thousands of young men in Russia today are being conscripted, drafted or pressed into their armed forces so that they can advance to their deaths on behalf of Putin. They have no choice but to die. That is the price one pays for giving in.
On January 1st this year I wrote ‘Trump is the greatest threat to a Ukrainian victory’ and I stand by that. In the USA today 40% of the voting population want to elect their own tyrant. A man who has openly told them he will arrest all his opponents, begin mass deportations and execute anyone who returns. He refers to those he dislikes as ‘animals’. Perhaps he will use cattle cars to transport them south and greet them with with dogs in the new Auswitz? Trump if elected will stop aid to Ukraine and cause the collapse of European security. If he isn’t a Russian asset, he should be.
The life of Ukraine depends on the courage of the Ukrainian people. It also depends on the lesser courage of the rest of the world to remember that freedom must be defended at home and abroad. The right to life, to free expression, freedom of religion and freedom to live securely without threat.
Whether we realise it or not Ukraine’s soldiers are fighting for all of us. Their blood is being sacrificed for our freedom.
Ukrainian Voices
From Stand With Ukraine, Liza Rose, on another villain:
President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday said he is the #1 target for assassination by Iran.
source: The Independent
It is rare that the United States President speaks truth.
It is rare that the United States President is correct.
In this rare instance Donald Trump is on point.
Here is the bigger issue: Vice President JD Vance would serve in his place.
JD Vance has been nothing but a stain on America since taking his role.
How do I know JD Vance is worse than Donald Trump?
To put it simply — JD Vance is such a bad human being that he has made the Trump Administration look bad.
There is a good reason why we rarely see JD Vance anymore.
Trump chooses his son in law Jared Kushner and other staffers to fulfill duties that would have likely gone to the Vice President.
🔴 Even Donald J. Trump is aware that JD Vance is a stain on his administration and humanity.
A few examples,
1. JD Vance is a staunch Russian propagandist mouthpiece.
JD Vance pushes false Kremlin narrative that has resulted in innocent lives lost. On February 28, 2025 Vance was the ringleader of the bullying in the oval office towards Ukrainian President Zelensky.
JD Vance cackled, “did you even say thank you” while egging the others on to bully Zelenskyy about his outfit choice and falsely claiming “he had no cards”.
It was soon after that Zelenskyy blew the military world away with proof of having all the cards, by flawlessly executing the genius ‘Spiderweb operation’. Also known as ‘cobweb’, wherein Ukraine hid its state of the art drones within trucks that Russians drove into Russia where they were released as a swarm into the skies.
Yes Ukrainians invented a military operation for the history books — using Russians to deliver drones into their own territory.
JD Vance is too ignorant to this day to recognize the talents of Kyiv.
2. In 2026 JD Vance became infamous and a history maker for one of the worst things on earth — Vance traveled on the public dime to Hungary to write himself into the history books as the only and first US Vice President to perform Foreign Election Interference.
JD Vance promoted Viktor Orban who is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s biggest supporter of war crimes.
3. In 2026 JD Vance exclaimed with a big smile, that “His proudest moment was taking away all aid to Ukrainians.”
Not only is the comment diabolical in nature, it also set the United States back in its already failing integrity — by undermining the obligations of the Budapest Memorandum signed 1994.
Under Budapest Memorandum,
the United States contracted itself into providing ongoing territorial security and aid in the event of any attack by Russia upon Ukraine.
That illegal invasion happened over four years ago.
As I stated above, the words by JD Vance are not only diabolical — they are dangerously wrong — JD Vance’s proudest moment is taking away all aid to innocent women and children suffering genocide while blatantly disregarding his contractual duties.
In 1994 the United States forced Ukraine to give up a trillion dollar nuclear arsenal rendering the nation vulnerable — with the promise of ongoing aid.
JD Vance is proud that he has directly caused thousands of deaths of civilians, women and children who are bombed while sleeping in their homes.
So tell me.
Who is worse?