And there is nothing to be gained by stirring the pot.
Russian Military thought on Crimea has been well known since the Crimean War. They will go to the mat for it.
If the west desires to wrest Crimea from Russia, then we must win a Total War. Russia is transparent on this point.
Diplomacy will not work instead.
Chicanery with subversion and bribery won’t work either - a failed attempt at that brings up the question now.
Piecemeal war can go on as long as the west desires to grind living human beings who had hopes and dreams and families who loved them into an iron Russian will that will not be worn down.
If the west chooses war, then contrary to all the Nuclear Doves on forums like this it behooves us to prepare our populace and infrastructure for nuclear chemical and biological conflict. Because there is no secret (Field Marshal Petain-esque fantasies of righteousness prevailing in lieu of superior arms notwithstanding) that a determined attempt to take Crimea goes to that point.
I know pointing this out will upset all the Nuclear Doves on this forum, and that they will whine that my call for updating and upgrading our nuclear preparedness is somehow supporting Putin the person (as if there were any possibility of a Russian leader doing things differently) but they are too stupid for me to take them seriously.
Lately I've been trying to edify them, as for the most part their hearts are in the right place.
They just don't have a clue about Russian history and Ukraine.
Ukraine was only a separate country from Russia after the 1917 revolution. In fact, Kiev is the epicenter of Russian Culture and Civilization.
Katherine the Great built Odessa from the ground up.
Russia has already lost a million men defending Crimea. They are certainly willing to invest another million.