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It's not whether it is a good grab or not by anyone else's definition. It's a security issue. It's a very important Black Sea naval base they could have lost access to at any moment. and it's about a massive chunk of property in the region which they can now freely militarize. It's about stopping the Ukraine from joining the EU. It's about stopping NATO from moving in.
These guys do not give a fuck about hollow and toothless threats. They don't care about Obama or the EUs threats. They don't care about the ultimately small price that must be paid. For very large political and strategic security gains.
Putins first job in office was to take back Chechnya by starting a second war. That was the very thing he ran on and got elected for. Russia completely leveled that country and the capital. Search google for pics of Grozny. Who stopped that? How did Russia suffer. They sent military into Georgia ... Who stopped that? What was the cost. This is not something new... He knows exactly how to play the Eu and US and it is weak leadership that creates these opportunities just as weak leadership will ultimately welcome Russia back into western arms in a year or two or three.
What no one seems to get is that this is not "new" behavior. This is the same Russia fighting the Cold War as they always have.
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