You and Snowybear have a pretty good handle on it and both are right actually.
Every major power has always configured their areas of influence regarding other countries....even we do that...Ukraine has always been Russia’s red-line for years and though NATO said it had no plans to station nuclear weapons in new member states or send in new permanent military forces they’ve been inciting protests and riots in Ukraine for years. In fact theres a ‘dial-up’ group In Uraine who are also “on call’ to create pubic unrest in Russia.
Ukraine will never be anything but a debtor state...The EU and IMF Made certain of this regardless whatever association it has with Europe. They will pull Keiv’s strings along with the US....Putin knows this all to well.
> Ukraine will never be anything but a debtor state...The EU and IMF Made certain of this regardless whatever association it has with Europe. They will pull Keiv’s strings along with the US....Putin knows this all to well.
Bingo!
-SB