>>14275919>>14275931Exerting pressure a decade ago is what provoked Russia into retaking Ukraine. The push for a western aligned Ukraine upset the status quo and removed the buffer state, which genuinely is important for Russia's integrity. It really was such a stupid move. You can also see how Belarus is used in this conflict to show the importance of that buffer, as political boundaries can be more impassable than mountains or rivers.
Anyway, ever since Russia started their salami tactics of taking bit by bit of the region since they can heat things up then pull back and the world gets used to the new situation. I would guess when they're done this time they will absorb the separatist areas and maybe take up to the dnieper and create a puppet government similar to belarus.
