Ukraine’s Fate

There’s been a lot of talk about how determined the Ukrainians are and how Russia will pay a terrible price if they invade that country. But the Russian military is immensely more powerful than Ukraine’s military, and they can advance on Ukraine from three sides. If they attack, I think it would be quickly seen that resistance would be suicidal. Putin could probably install a puppet government supported by a sizable segment of the Ukrainian population within a few days.The threat of U.S. and E.U. unprecedented economic sanctions will not likely be sufficient to deter Putin. I’m guessing that what happens will depend on the degree to which (1), E.U.countries can tolerate being deprived of Russian natural gas; (2) China, North Korea, and Iran are in league with Russia; and (3) Putin’s obsession with restoring Russia to its status when he was a KBG officer suppresses his pragmatic instincts.One thing certain: that making war would cause untold numbers of deaths and suffering of millions of people won’t enter into his calculations.