Putin's risky bet in eastern Ukraine

The Russian president is playing a dangerous game in the former Soviet country

Ukraine protest
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Gero Breloer))

To understand why Russian President Vladimir Putin has been willing to escalate tensions in the Ukraine even after annexing the Crimean peninsula, it's instructive to remember back to 2008 when he told George W. Bush that "Ukraine is not even a country." This comment was broadly and accurately interpreted to demonstrate the contempt Putin has long held for Ukraine, and for the possibility of a strong Ukraine aligned with the West. But few in the West considered that Putin's words might also reflect the genuine weakness of state formation and cohesion in much of the former Soviet Union. And that this current environment could either vindicate and empower Putin — should he invade eastern Ukraine — or deliver him a resounding defeat.

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