Russia and Ukraine

[Pat Mustard]

I think a full on invasion is unlikely because Putin doesn’t have enough troops on the border to either invade or occupy.   But I think his strategy is to use the presence of the military to create a sense of unbearable, unresolvable tension in Kiev, make the anti-Russian, pro-nato government seem powerless to resolve the issue, and enable more Russian friendly to claim they have better capacity to resolve the tension.

Actually the government of current President Volodymyr Zelensky is by temperament and inclination very much pro-Russia. Zelensky's whole platform was to find a way to come to an accommodation with Russia, even at a disadvantage to Ukraine itself.

Putain threw that golden opportunity out to take Ukraine out of the Western orbit because he was idiot enough to push for full vassalisation and humiliation.