Didn’t the Ukraine get invited by NATO to join as a member?
How does Russia feel about NATO on its doorstep?
Who caused the coup of the democratically elected, pro-Russian leader to be ousted in 2014?
Who shelled the ethnic Russians civilians in the Donetsk region in 2014 after they started protesting the coup?
Russia has used the Crimea for centuries; the Crimea is Russia's only warm water port! Crimea is one key to Russia being a world power.
JFK was considering going to war in 1962 to prevent Russia from establishing a nuclear weapons base in Cuba; he was able to work out a compromise to resolve the situation. Russia is prepared to take extreme measures to keep NATO off of its doorstep, to maintain its access to the Crimea.
A compromise was worked out but the U.S. intervened and stopped the deal. We appear to be considering nuclear war to stop Russia from having access to the Crimea.
We citizens must insist that sanity prevail in the Ukraine conflict (Sen. Lindsey Graham.) Our intervention has caused genocide in the region. As an experienced negotiator, I agree with Donald Trump that a peaceful resolution is still possible if cooler heads can prevail.