“Putin won’t let this go. Ukraine is rich in natural resources and a rich agricultural sector. Also Odessa on the Black Sea is a strong port and shipping center. Russia needs to control this.”
Extreme mismanagement by former governments, in the most corrupt country on the planet, makes this look almost too easy to take for ANY Russian leader, not just Putin.
(Sigh). With great regret I have to agree with you. Ukrainians in my particular experience are a good and hard working people. They have been betrayed over and over by corrupt apparatchiks whose corruption permeates all levels of society.