But then again, I also read this take on it this morning:
Having studied Russia for 4 years I would say it is not because of the port. It is because Ukraine reaches far into the EU. Russia wants to keep its buffer states from the EU as loyal as possible to keep the dividing line between Russia and the EU as far away as possible. To do so they must keep certain Eastern European countries on their side to accomplish this goal. Russia's worst nightmare are these Eastern European states falling into direct EU loyalty or US loyalty. Meaning the enemy from the west is now on its doorstep. Now Russia would lose all of its stand off distance in the event of a major war. It has nothing to do with the port, they just want you to think it does. The port is only a tiny slice of the pie in the scope of the bigger picture here. Think port tactical win, keeping Ukraine loyal as a buffer is the end strategic goal.
Or there's the possibility that Putin is just a dick and wants to look like the strong Russian leader his people want so he's going to bully the little kids on the block. I mean no one even talks about what he did in Georgia anymore. He's probably [correctly] betting that he'll get his way and no one will do a damn thing about it.
Russia has a port in Sevastopol already on a long term lease that is home to a sizeable fleet.
(opinion here) Exactly.
Russia has a warm deep water port, on the Crimean peninsula, that they are leasing from the Ukranian govt.
The pro-Russian leader of Ukraine (Viktor Yanukovych) was ousted and the new govt has is not going to be bent as easily. Hell, they introduced legislation that would "strip the Russian language of any official status." Combine that sort of nationalism with the fact that Ukraine would like to be part of the EU, and other things... what are the odds of this new Ukranian leadership honoring that port lease in the future?
The fact that that portion of Ukraine is still very pro-Russia, unlike the western half of the country, means that Putin and his boys have good odds of taking it without a shot being fired.
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow charged Monday that the George W. Bush administration's Middle East policy has steered America's current security policy and response to global crises — including the one in Ukraine.
Talking about her new documentary, "Why We Did It," involving circumstances leading to the Iraq War, Maddow told MSNBC colleague Andrea Mitchell that the Bush administration is largely responsible for the nation's current course overseas.
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