I don’t have a bias. I can only speak from extrapolation.
Russia doesn’t have a warm water port.
I learned this from some Russian business men and engineers when I was in Alaska. BP and Exxon let them tour the Alaska Pipeline facilities in Prudhoe Bay. I flew back to anchorage on the same plane as the group. I sat next to a very attractive (that’s another story) Russian business woman. We had a very good conversation.
Russia is basically land locked. Peter the Great understood the importance of The Ukraine and the economic trade impact. Without a warm water port, Russia is blocked from economic expansion.
Putin is a powerful leader and to be quite honest, he’s brilliant. He understands The Ukraine and it’s importance in the area. The warm water port is everything. The Ukraine is under heavy debt because they got stupid and borrowed money from the banking system. Very bad move. The economic interests to the Banking industry is the motive to keep The Ukraine out of Putin’s hands.
Putin paid off Russia’s debt, and like Trump, he doesn’t owe anyone $hit. Banking does not like countries that are not held in debt.
Marine General Smedley Butler commented in the 1930s how things in the world would unfold. He despised the way marines were used to squash 3rd world nations so that their production could be exploited.
This Russian business woman was a very astute woman. Kinda scary but she had drinks with me later that evening at the Hilton in Anchorage.
It seems complex but it’s not. At this point...that could change...I support Putin’s initiatives. Ukraine sold their souls.