Bypassing the National Assembly to force through his unpopular pension reform looked like a clever move—until it brought the French people back onto the streets.
After a warrant was issued for his arrest by the International Criminal Court, the Russian president toured occupied Ukrainian land in Crimea and Mariupol.
Cities devastated, untold thousands dead, and the global economy, with its epicenter in Asia, left in ruins—a war would be ruinous to the region and the world.