From what I heard recently, Russia has two benefits:
1. Tactical - chokepoints are a major element of military tactics, and I guess there's a spot that leaves Russia completely defenseless with wide-open spaces if it doesn't own Poland and Ukraine.
2. Wheat - apparently, Russia owns quite a bit of the market, and Ukraine would carry another minority.
With that in mind, I see this entire thing as a coercive and brutal M&A, but with people's lives being destroyed instead of just their long-term career plans.
And the Minsk agreement, the charter of the UN, and a bunch of treaties signed within the Council of Europe that are supposed to safeguard self-determination and deter agression.
When the other party is painted as the enemy, tearing down treaties is seen as an act of national pride. See Germany with the Versailles “Diktat” and Trump with the Iran nuclear deal and Paris agreement.
1. Tactical - chokepoints are a major element of military tactics, and I guess there's a spot that leaves Russia completely defenseless with wide-open spaces if it doesn't own Poland and Ukraine.
2. Wheat - apparently, Russia owns quite a bit of the market, and Ukraine would carry another minority.
With that in mind, I see this entire thing as a coercive and brutal M&A, but with people's lives being destroyed instead of just their long-term career plans.