re: #261 wheat-doggha — oo bird outside my window

Why does Putin need Odessa? For that matter, why does Putin need any territory outside the existing Russian Federation? He’s got plenty of territory already, and he should get the hell out of Crimea.

Are you some kind of Putin apologist? Or is Ukraine an “expendable” country, like, say, Austria, Poland or Czechoslovakia were in the 1930s?

I’m very much opposed to Putin’s expansionism but I’m also opposed to making threats and red lines that we aren’t going to enforce. Obama says military options are not on the table and nobody thinks sanctions are going to dissuade Putin. Maybe the next administration will have better ideas but I’m not seeing any good options here.