I just got off the phone with my friends in Europe. Interesting conversation, it seems that the area where Putin is sending in troops is ethnically 75% Russian, who speak Russian not Ukraine. In 1954 Krushchev gave that territory to the Ukraine, which my friends think was while he was under the influence of too much vodka. It is also a strategic location for Russia as it is there that they have access to their naval assets. (But we already know that.) They don’t think Putin wants all of the Ukraine, just a guarantee that he has unrestricted access to the ports. Sorta reminds me of 1939 Danzig, hopefully it will end peacefully.
Big difference. Hitler just didn't want Danzig...That was just a pretext for destroying Poland as a whole.
Putin truly just wants the primarily Russian speaking regions. I think then he doesn't care what the rest of Ukraine does.
True, Khrushchev needed to consolidate his power, so he favored Ukraine to make up for past abuses, and gain their support. It wasn't just a whim, and there was little ethnic compatibility among the consolidated groups.
If the West accepts the partition of Ukraine, with Russia keeping the South, East and all seacoast, there will be no war.