The 2 plus 4 Treaty on Re-unification of Germany
The Orange Revolution and a western leaning govt
Bush's failed attempt to get Ukraine and Georgia into NATO
The Russian clawback and getting a Russian leaning govt into power
Renewal of Russia's 50 year lease on the Crimean port
The 2nd Orange Revolution and re-establishment of a western leaning govt
Russia's move to protect the port
Russia's attempt to establish a slice of eastern Ukaraine as a corridor connecting Russia to Crimea and the port.
Or you can look at Russia’s historic mistreatment of its neighbors in the time of the Czars, the Soviets, and now Putin and realize that there is always an excuse for Russia to bully its neighbors. You can look at the mass starvation in Ukraine in 1933. The Katyn Massacre in Poland is something the Russians have never admitted to, like the Japanese and Nanking. Russia’s invasion of Poland in 1939. Russia’s mistreatment of minorities whom they’ve pushed back and forth in relentless series of ethnic cleansing. Putin’s one-state religion (Russian Orthodox kowtowing to Putin’s ukases.) Putin’s state-controlled news media. And somehow the poor, paranoid Russian mentality would have us believe that the NATO and the West are both decadent, weak, and a huge threat to their paranoid fantasies. I’m not buying any of it. Putin wants to rebuild the Soviet empire. You either see that or you don’t. You either are pro-freedom and pro-American or you’re pro-Putin.