| | | < if he goes all in, invading Ukraine>
Putin was a young KGB officer in Afghanistan, when the Soviets tried to conquer that nation. He knows, in a very personal way, the results of trying to control a hostile population. He knows, the defeat in Afghanistan was part of the reason for the destruction of the Soviet Union.
Ukraine is larger, in population and area, than Afghanistan. It would be harder to control. Stalin tried and failed to crush Ukrainian nationalism.
So far, the only parts of Ukraine Putin has taken, are the parts with a majority Russian population. If the boundaries had originally been drawn on ethnic lines, Crimea and easternmost Ukraine would always have been part of Russia.
Putin is making threats, and trying to extract concessions by scaring his enemies. Based on his behavior, he is more sane than some recent American Presidents. |
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