Vladimir Putin is obsessed with Ukraine.

Back in 2008, he famously told then US President George W. Bush that it was not even a real country.

In a press conference following his summit with current US President Joe Biden, Putin became visibly animated - indeed almost unhinged - when talking about Ukraine.

And this week, Putin published an essay on the "historical unity" of Russia and Ukraine in which he argued - among other things - that present day Ukraine is an artificial construct of the Soviet era and that Ukrainian sovereignty is only possible in partnership with Russia.

On this week's Power Vertical Podcast, host Brian Whitmore speaks with James Sherr and Konstantin Eggert about what Putin's obsession with delegitimizing Ukraine's statehood tells us about his state of mind and Russian policy toward Ukraine and beyond.