I reread the prior post and asked myself the following question. Why Russia has been unable to befriend Ukraine in ways that make the two nations natural allies? Proverbially, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Let's explore possible answers to that question. Perhaps it is that, for whatever reasons, Russia cannot match the bourgeois affluence of France and Germany. The higher standard of living in the West might be the draw that entices many Ukranians to identify with the EU.
Perhaps it is Putin's natural affinity for autocrats like Belarus' A. G. Lukashenko. Maybe the people of Ukraine want a multiparty representative government as is common in the EU, not a president-for-life in the style of Russia's Putin.
Maybe Ukraine remembers the Holodomor, the artificially created famine attributed to the Soviet leader Stalin which some say killed 7 million in Ukraine. It was roughly 90 years ago, but the bitterness lasts.
Or just maybe it is because Russia wants the people of Ukraine to be Russian in everything but name, and that desire is only shared by a minority of Ukrainians. A majority of Ukrainians believe they have a separate identity to go with their somewhat separate language.
Actually, all of those are good reasons and perhaps all are partially responsible. Nevertheless, it would seem that a charm offensive would pay more dividends than a military invasion.
I can't imagine the prospect of repressing an unhappy Ukraine into the indefinite future seems attractive. Putin must view it as the lesser of several bad choices he has.
