Taylor Talks to Newsweek About Putin’s Narrative on the Success of HIMARS in Ukraine

August 11, 2022

Newsweek

Brian Taylor

Political Science Department

International Affairs

Russia

Ukraine

Newsweek

Brian Taylor

The use of U.S.-made HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) by Ukraine has boosted its efforts and limited Russia's military advances. But as Ukraine touts the success of the weapon, experts say that has inadvertently bolstered Putin's propaganda among the Russian people and given the leader a scapegoat for Russia's failures on the battlefield.

Brian Taylor, professor of political science, says Putin has used the success of HIMARS to accuse the U.S. of being directly involved in the Ukraine war. This is part of his strategy to tap into a "deep-seated" domestic narrative that Russia is at war not just with Ukraine but with the West as well, Taylor says.

Read more in the Newsweek article, "Putin Finds Scapegoat in U.S. HIMARS, Builds Case for War With West."