A lot of countries had their hand in Ukraine turning into the conflagration it is today. Russia propped up openly corrupt officials pre 2014 who were about to sign a 25 year extension for Russians to use Crimea and Donbass for military ports. European Economic ministers looked the other way while Ukraine then openly punished the breakaway regions with austerity while Nazis and their own Army laid them under permanent military siege.
NATO and the US overreacted to Russia's access to a warm water port by dumping money into every anti-Russian group in Ukraine from ~2010 onward and thought that cutting the Russians off from the Black Sea would weaken Putin. Instead it emboldened him to take back Crimea at any cost. Taking the two breakaway regions is strategic to ensure roads to Crimea stay open no matter what.
Ukraine today and Putin are the product of the CIA Yeltsin coup and the Soviet collapse. All these oligarchs sell the country out and pat themselves on the back, then backstab each other for 2 to 3 decades now. As I said, it has reached this point because of self-interest of these oligarchs, especially the US when they are way too greedy and want to end Russia once and for all.
I agree with your read of the situation but if I'm understanding your last point right; even if the DNR separatists controlled all of the historical borders of Donbas (which they don't right now), there is still some 250 miles in Ukrainian territory to reach Crimea by road.
A lot of countries had their hand in Ukraine turning into the conflagration it is today. Russia propped up openly corrupt officials pre 2014 who were about to sign a 25 year extension for Russians to use Crimea and Donbass for military ports. European Economic ministers looked the other way while Ukraine then openly punished the breakaway regions with austerity while Nazis and their own Army laid them under permanent military siege.
NATO and the US overreacted to Russia's access to a warm water port by dumping money into every anti-Russian group in Ukraine from ~2010 onward and thought that cutting the Russians off from the Black Sea would weaken Putin. Instead it emboldened him to take back Crimea at any cost. Taking the two breakaway regions is strategic to ensure roads to Crimea stay open no matter what.
Ukraine today and Putin are the product of the CIA Yeltsin coup and the Soviet collapse. All these oligarchs sell the country out and pat themselves on the back, then backstab each other for 2 to 3 decades now. As I said, it has reached this point because of self-interest of these oligarchs, especially the US when they are way too greedy and want to end Russia once and for all.
I agree with your read of the situation but if I'm understanding your last point right; even if the DNR separatists controlled all of the historical borders of Donbas (which they don't right now), there is still some 250 miles in Ukrainian territory to reach Crimea by road.
The more territory along the east that the Russians control the more they can demand Ukraine open the borders to their trucking.
It would be like Mexico preventing the US from trading by road to Central America.