Vladimir Putin dangles the carrot of a satellite launchers at Vostochny Cosmodrome, in Ogligorsk, in the Russian Far East, to Kim Jong Un. Photo by Vladimir Smirnov / Getty Images For many international observers, the footage of Vladimir Putin welcoming Kim Jong Un to the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East on 13 September, was evidence of how far the Russian leader has fallen since his invasion of Ukraine. “It’s another indicator of the desperation of President Putin,” remarked the former British defence minister Ben Wallace in an interview on CNN. “We have a saying in England: ‘By your...