Russia's Involvement (And why it complicates everything)
Russia's involvement began the actual fighting. Their annexation of the Crimean peninsula was the genesis of the military action. The reasons behind Russia's involvement, however, are a little confusing.
Russia's involvement takes the situation from an internal struggle to one of international proportions. Europe's dependence on Russian gas and Russia's less than rational thought process when it comes to the Cold War and its lasting effects make coming to a conclusion on what to do difficult.
- Russia has said that they are involved to protect ethnic Russians living in Ukraine. However, had it not been for Stalin's truly horrifying social policies, there would not be a large Russian population to speak of.
- It is also likely that Russia's motives are not so noble. Their actions basically amount to a land grab with the purpose of testing the US and the post-Cold War social order.
Russia's involvement takes the situation from an internal struggle to one of international proportions. Europe's dependence on Russian gas and Russia's less than rational thought process when it comes to the Cold War and its lasting effects make coming to a conclusion on what to do difficult.