I'm not sure I agree with the details. Putin is probably more interested in the referendum in Belarus than in embarrassing the West, although he is surely interested in both. POTUS himself apparently does not want a war, but it's not clear he is in a position to stop the CIA from starting a war anyway.
I was assuming the CIA would take action inside Russia, but it makes more sense that they would act in Kiev. Zelenskyy isn't an idiot, so there's no real risk of an attempt at a fake coup accidentally succeeding.
It is clearly in the current administration's interest to have the conflict endure as long as possible as a distraction from its own incompetence.
It's disturbingly possible.
I'm not sure I agree with the details. Putin is probably more interested in the referendum in Belarus than in embarrassing the West, although he is surely interested in both. POTUS himself apparently does not want a war, but it's not clear he is in a position to stop the CIA from starting a war anyway.
I was assuming the CIA would take action inside Russia, but it makes more sense that they would act in Kiev. Zelenskyy isn't an idiot, so there's no real risk of an attempt at a fake coup accidentally succeeding.