We live in a different world from 1941. It cannot be equated. Ask yourself this question. Why hasn’t Putin already invaded the Ukraine and rolled into Kiev? Why isn’t he already standing in the square in Kiev with a shot of vodka and surveying his new territory?
Your question is a non-sequiter. Putin probably doesn’t want Kiev and even if he did he’s moving slowly and deliberately, not quickly without having his ducks in a row. Putin will keep and hold the Crimea and I’m betting a good chunk of Eastern Ukraine. And obamakerrymerkel may jump up and down and holler and scream but it’s not going to change the facts on the ground. And don’t forget the muddy roads that you’re so dismissive of, worked in Russia’s favor in WWII and during Napoleon’s invasion.
Why hasn’t Putin already invaded the Ukraine and rolled into Kiev? Why isn’t he already standing in the square in Kiev with a shot of vodka and surveying his new territory?
Putin doesn’t have to. Half the country is pro-Moscow Russian. Putin can call out his goons in Kharkiv and Donetsk and throw Ukraine into chaos any time he wants. In fact, Putin wants a destabilized Ukraine while he solidifies his Crimean games.
Sad to say your historical review of Crimea is naive. You seem unaware of the mass deportations, ethnic cleansings and murders in the former USSR. History shows nothing good happens when Russians are on the march. Where they go, misery follows.