Unrest in Ukraine

[U-Ute]

I figure we should start a thread on this since it looks like it is going to go on for a while.

Can anyone educate me as to why Russia would want to take the Ukraine? I know that there is a lot of history there, but it seems like they'd be pissing a lot of people off, so they must have something to gain for it.

They already have access to the Black Sea, and consequently, the Mediterranean and the rest of the world. Getting Crimea doesn't really add much to their ocean front property.

So if anyone can explain it to me like I'm 5, I'd really appreciate it.

[DanielLaRusso]

First, you can drop the definitive article...this isn't the 19th century and Ukraine isn't The Bahamas or The Gambia.

Second, that's a tricky question. Most of what you'll hear in this thread and elsewhere is prognostication because...there is no clear answer yet. For me, this is largely a power play. For Russia, what happened in Ukraine was a foreign born coup, not a democratic uprising. From Putin's perspective, the uprising in Ukraine was a subversive action led by the EU because Ukraine's Russia-leaning ousted president balked at an EU trade relationship in favor of Russian cash (Ukraine is in deep monetary trouble). Thus, instead of turning to his usual bully pulpit of threatening to shut-off the oil pipelines into Europe (that happen to run through Ukraine), Putin is showing he is willing to use military force to push against supposed European influence.

This could have happened in any former Soviet satellite and received the same Russian response, but this is one is just extra special because Putin gets to threaten a vital Black Sea port, oil pipelines, AND the European breadbasket.