What does Vladimir Putin hope to achieve through military intervention in Syria? Russian planes stationed at the airbase in Latakia carried out their first strikes yesterday. Mr Putin seems to have several aims. He wants to contrast his own decisiveness with America’s dithering; to underline that Russia remains an indispensable global power (Barack Obama met him this week for the first time in two years); and to divert attention from the mess in Ukraine. Russia’s defence ministry said Wednesday’s raids targeted Islamic State militants, but America has expressed concerns that the attacks were in regions not held by IS. That suggests Mr Putin’s main concern is propping up the regime of his ally, Bashar Assad, rather than weakening IS. Another question is whether Mr Putin is acting for show, or preparing for a long and costly fight—because there are no quick and easy solutions in Syria.