Was he bluffing about Ukraine? He reached the point of no return the day he invaded. I think incorporating the areas scheduled for the plebiscites is the minimum Putin must accomplish strategically and politically. Once he has his new borders and defenses set, it will be extremely hard to dislodge him. It will take not only the best equipment NATO has but many NATO troops as well. Incredibly, the best case “ending” scenario for this is NATO and Russia falling back into another generational Cold War with Checkpoint Charley stretching from Turkey to the Arctic Circle.
For sure worth pondering. I certainly thought he was - right up to the last minute.
Without the US involvement there will be war. It’s Europe’s history. We’re not enemies of Russia as we haven’t spent decades as part of the underlying 2 way antagonism. 45 years of post WW2 peace would not have occurred without the US being involved. The USSR needed the Eastern Bloc as a buffer. It’s gone. The US has to step in as an even handed arbitrator like we’ve done in the mideast. It takes time with hiccups along the way. Camp David was 40+ years ago. Those ethnic tensions in the old Yugoslavia have subsided. Our issue today is the killer in the Kremlin and the dim wit in the WH.
The solution going forward involves an unbeholden Trump. 2 years will be too late. The American voter will be to blame.