I would agree with you to a limited extent - money is definitely a big motivating factor.
But the simple fact is that NATO - specifically the US - lied to them about expanding NATO; with the prospect of letting Ukraine join, Russia would have faced NATO forces armed with the most modern equipment, used by the most highly skilled operators in the world (with the possible exception of the Israelis), the very distinct possibility of nukes - and all of that within a very short distance of Russia’s major population centers and industrial & military facilities. That’s not nothing, not by a long shot - though I’ll agree with you that it also isn’t everything.
But the simple fact is that NATO - specifically the US - lied to them about expanding NATO;
***When and where? Is it a signed agreement like the Budapest Agreement? If not, then it’s just a bunch of words bandied around by guys at a negotiating table, unsigned and unacted upon.
with the prospect of letting Ukraine join, Russia would have faced NATO forces armed with the most modern equipment, used by the most highly skilled operators in the world (with the possible exception of the Israelis), the very distinct possibility of nukes - and all of that within a very short distance of Russia’s major population centers and industrial & military facilities.
***Russia ALREADY has that in the form of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. Those countries were smart enough to apply for NATO membership as soon as they could, instead of dillydallying about it for 30 years like the Ukes did.
That’s not nothing, not by a long shot - though I’ll agree with you that it also isn’t everything.
***The Ukes failed in both regards. They didn’t join NATO — otherwise they would not be invaded right now nor in 2014. They also gave back their nukes in the Budapest Agreement — otherwise they would not be invaded... You get the picture.