In advocating for a federalist Ukraine, the Russians are not acting out of humanitarian concern or responding to spontaneous pleas from the oppressed people of eastern Ukraine. Their moves are the product of strategy and pride:
1. The Soviet Union put much of its armaments industry in eastern Ukraine. Independent Ukraine ranks as one of the top 10 arms exporters on earth, and Russia is its biggest customer. Antonov military-transport aircraft are built in eastern Ukraine, as are the motors for Russia’s helicopters and the anti-aircraft missiles carried by its fighter planes.
2. Newly annexed Crimea draws its electricity and other crucial services from eastern Ukraine. If Ukraine closes its border with Crimea, Russia’s grip on the peninsula will rapidly become untenable. If adjoining Ukrainian territory can be detached from Kiev and Western Ukraine, the annexation will proceed much more smoothly.
3. As Putin said in his speech justifying the annexation of Crimea, he cannot accept Ukraine as a distinct nationality.
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