We have no national interest in Ukraine, and thus will probably will do nothing despite posturing. And that is how it should be.
The ones who have interests, apart from the Ukrainans, of course, are the Sovi, er, Russians and the Europeans, and it is all about natgas pipelines. How can the Russians sell their gas to the Europeans if an anti-Russian gov't is in place? And how can the Europeans replace it? There is an enormous Russian national interest at stake, and the Europeans are similarly interested. Best thing the US can do is let O's lips flap in the breeze a bit (he's good at that) then accept whatever happens.
And even if the situation called for us to 'do something,' what would that 'something' be given the geographical realities? Military action in state adjacent to Russia's borders? An action which would guarantee that the Europeans would lose a big chunk of their gas supply? It would be immeasurably insane.
To suggest that the Ukraine is a true sovereign and independent nation is misconceived. It is theoretically that, of course, but it must be remembered that much of the population is ethnically Russian, speaks the Russian language, and has strong links and borders with Russia. Add the nat gas and Sebastopol base to the mix and it is a very easy to see why this is none of our biz.
Oh, sure, give the Russians a PR black eye. Why not? They'd so the same if we were in the same pickle.
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