I'm getting the feeling the U.S. and Ukraine

[no_hypocrisy]

could promise no NATO and Putin would incorporate the latter anyway. IOW, his conditions are meaningless.

[rso]

1. Putin

Time to bloody Putin’s nose.

[Samrob]

14. Putin is the problem Russian citizens must solve for themselves. nt

[rso]

16. Putin

Sure, but we can help cripple their economy and finally go on the offensive with our formidable cyber capabilities by screwing around with Putin’s and the oligarchs’ finances.

[Texaswitchy]

2. He wants the old Soviet Union back.

No democracy on the border.

The Russian people might want some of that.

[underpants]

3. Yep. He has his eye on the prize and we shouldn't forget that.

[Texaswitchy]

4. Yes.

His bucket list.

Not going to happen.

I heard he has Parkinsons.

My Mother did and she changed.

Lost all reasonable thinking.

She had hallucinations also.

Scary to think Putin might be like that.

Had to put Mother in a Alzheimer's type nursing home for her safety.

[marie999]

6. That is why Korea is now 2 countries. Of course, Korea wasn't asked if it wanted to be 2 countries.

It was a decision of the US and Russia. The US also decided that Vietnam was also 2 countries.

[Ahpook]

17. I am curious about this

Does he want the Stalin idea of the country back? As mad as he was I think quite a few hold him as a great leader during WW2.

Does he want the territories back? What's his plan?

[DFW]

5. It's not a no-NATO promise Putin really wants. That is just a smokescreen to hide behind

Just like "Saddam must give up his WMD or we will act!"

Cheney knew full well there were no WMD. He wanted Iraq's oil and a few hundred billion in no-bid contracts for Halliburton. He had 200,000 options on Halliburton stock at $19 a share, costing him $1 each, put into a blind trust when he became VP. But he didn't exactly submit to memory erasure. He still knew about those stock options. After the Iraq invasion and his administration giving all those contracts to Halliburton, its stock rose to $87 a share. $87 minus $20 (the initial price of $19 plus $1 for each option) leaves $67---TIMES 200,000. That's a $13.4 million gain for good old Dick, and that is just one deal that is public knowledge. Who knows what the rest was? I doubt that the $9 billion in cash of ours that disappeared in the Irqi desert truly went to parts unknown.

So what does Putin want? The Soviet Socialist Republics back? Well, at least the pan-Slavic empire the czars had, anyway. Plus the Ukraine's vast western agricultural area used to be known as the bread basket of the Soviet Union. I'm sure he'd like control over that, too. Not to return them to the disastrous socialist collective farms that Stalin mismanaged. No, this time they'd get put in the hands of economically savvy businessmen who do what old VVP tells them to. He gets his cut, but Russia gets fed, and they get to live like czars, themselves.

In short, ironically enough, to use a term the old socialist nations used to throw at the West: this is good old-fashioned imperialism.

[Irish_Dem]

8. This. K and R

Thanks DFW for the timely and spot on assessment.

Also Putin is playing games for his amusement, I think.

Also it is the same thing the US at Cheney's urging did with Iraq.

[Texaswitchy]

9. Yes.

Greedy

He wants more billions.

He has grand plans.

[DFW]

11. I tink he wants to see his likeness on all Russian coins, postage stamps and banknotes

The legend will say, instead of Peter I, "Vladimir I, Emperor and leader of all the Russias"
Just like 300 years ago, he wants to see his image here:

[dalton99a]

15. +1

[roamer65]

7. It's a territorial grab.

He thinks because he’s Xi’s poodle he can do what he wants elsewhere.

One thing I can promise. We will turn it into a quagmire WORSE than Afghanistan for him and Russia.

[Texaswitchy]

10. O yes.

Russia got chased out of Afghanistan.

A lot of Russian boys went home in a box.

Hate to see that.

[texasfiddler]

12. Putin is worried that folks in Ukraine will tell people in Russia that Democracy is pretty good.

Inflation is about 10% in Russia and this in my opinion is a wag the dog moment for Putin.

[Texaswitchy]

13. Sounds right to me.

Wag the dog.

Afraid of democracy spreading.

Killing off people sons in a war will not make him very popular.

He has been stealing Russia blind.