Soundwave said: Putin isn't strong in this case ... people misunderstand something -- under Putin Russia has lost Ukraine and mismanaged the situation massively. Putin is also monumentally stupid for revving up the Cold War rhetoric, because if there's something both political parties in the US can rally around it's that Russian aggression needs to be dealt with. So now America is going to be given the greenlight by both parties with public support to spend tons of money helping Ukraine and so will other members of the EU. Whereas if they had kept this situation under control, there wouldn't be popular support for aiding Ukraine, but now everyone is going to come and help Ukraine pay down their debts and offer all types of trade/energy deals. |
Yanukovych was far from a Russian puppet. He was friendlier to Russia than some of the alternatives, but he was hardly Moscow's man any more than Tymoshenko was Moscow's woman (as despite perceptions, Tymoshenko was pretty good at playing nice with Russia even without getting over-cozy).
Nor will America spend that much on Ukraine because Ukraine is outside our sphere of influence, and still is a ways from getting in there, despite current perceptions.
I wouldn't say Crimea was invaded out of desperation, either. It wasn't a very smart or strategic move, it was highly opportunistic: taking advantage of the instability in the country to grab some territory that had a clear Russian majority as well as strategic importance for Russia.
Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.