i'm still trying to understand putin's reasoning in all of this. there must be much larger psychological differences between russians and Americans than i thought. nothing he has done makes much sense in any context i can put it in that doesn't seem insane or just incredibly unlikely.
he didn't want NATO to expand in Europe, so he does the one thing guaranteed to ensure NATO's expansion in Europe.
did he not realize that while he might be the big boy on the block in eastern Europe, he's just a snot nosed punk to the rest of the world?
his bully boys followed his example, robbing and stealing what they could, and putin didn't even think to check up on them independently.
now, even if he can retain control of crimea or the donbaas, it will be a constant drain, and i honestly do not think he can achieve even partial control, the math just doesn't add up. he cannot possibly station enough troops to maintain control of the area permanently, it will be a miniature version of the black hole the war has already become for russia, siphoning off men, materials, and money in huge gulps.