| | | Russia has not been complaining about any of the other countries which have been already admitted into the NATO block - which makes me think they’ve accepted the reality on the ground. Ukraine is a special case. The Ukraine - Russia border is 1,426 miles. 199 of those miles are sea, and the other, over 1200 miles - land.
en.m.wikipedia.org–Ukraine_border#Geography
The map in that wiki article shows very clearly the “natural” dividing line between Eastern Ukraine and the rest of it. That is the River Dniepr - or Dnipro. It also seems that there is very little border between Ukraine and Russia if you look at the areas West of that river.
I doubt that Russia can hold all of Ukraine - there is too much hatred, and the costs of chronic, never ending warfare against resistance fighters would be unacceptable. However, it the East, the majority of the population are ethnic Russians - in many areas they make up an overwhelming majority. In those areas, the resistance would not be successful.
So, my guess is - unless we go directly to one of the end of the world scenarios, and assuming the Russian side wins - Russia would be aiming at creating (most likely) an independent entity east of Dnipro. They would also insist on demilitarization of Western Ukraine, along the lines of the Minsk agreements.
Let’s hope and pray for the best. |
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