Putin needs an unstable Ukraine so as to discourage the same Euromaidan-style revolution from happening within his own borders. Lest Russians demand a democracy of their own.
Are you aware of what really caused the Euromaidan protests? Caww (and some others did incredible research on a long, live thread when that was happening. Soros and other foreign $ was paid to create a “natural looking” protest, and Pravi Sektor was involved in fomenting violence. It was not a natural expression of regular Ukrainians. It was horrible. And what is going on in Ukraine for some time is not “the goodies against the baddies”, either.
For whatever foreign-backed interests were behind the Euro-maidan...once Putin annexed Crimea, and even moreso in light of the conflict in the East (Donetsk/Donbass) :
Average Ukrainians (including ethnic Russians who live there) who were on the fence have solidified their commitment to resist Putin’s neo-Soviet, net-imperial sphere of influence.
Hence the tearing down of all the Lenin statues in Ukraine.
Hence the adoption of Western Christmas (12/25) as a national holiday to celebrate alongside Orthodox Christmas...
Among other moves solidifying Ukraine’s psycho-spiritual orientation towards European integration.
And Putin got his U.S. social media/protest meddling ideas from George Soros.
Putin was inspired by U.S. hawk/neo-conservatives to join the fight for influence in the Middle East.
With the prospect for breaking international law for the Crimea annexation, the typical Russian response was “But the U.S. does things like that all the time. What about Iraq?”
As Mark Levin aptly noted: It’s not about Trump vs. Hillary for Putin, so much as disrupting America period.
See, if Russian people believe American democracy is a big sham and cause for chaos — then they themselves will be less likely to be inspired to want American-style democracy for themselves. That’s Putin’s thinking. It’s that simple.
And in the meantime, American mishaps in judgment are justification for pursuit of their own geopolitical ambitions, regardless of how morally questionable.
One last idea:
“We Don’t Have to Choose Between Putin and George Soros.”
http://dailysignal.com/2017/03/24/we-dont-have-to-choose-between-putin-and-george-soros/