Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
This is about his country, of course he is upset. Absolutely everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong with this revolution, from the perspective of a decent and patriotic (but not nazi) Ukrainian.
From a Ukrainian perspective, Russia's behaviour is extremely opportunistic and like a bully, taking advantage of superior strength in a weak moment of the republic. Ukraina could never do the same thing against Russia, and there is plenty of history where Russia has not treated Ukraine very well. I happen to think that Ukraine brought this upon itself, but that doesn't change the fact.
It-Ogo explained that he changed his position the moment it became clear to him that there were Russian troops operating on Ukrainian soil, because this crossed as line for him. I think that's a logical perspective.
Although I have a different viewpoint based on how I see the situation, and because I have an axe to grind with EU / USA, I still totally sympathise with the way he feels.
Who with the slightest amount of patriotism wouldn't be extremely upset at the mere thought of foreign troops on their soil, REGARDLESS of any mitigating circumstances...? (well apart from brainwashed Western Europeans who think it's normal to have US bases on their soil decade after decade - yes, talking about Brits, Germans, Italians & co. )

Plus it takes courage to stand up and keep defending your viewpoint the way he has done.
It seems to me that Crimea is a done deal so I am starting a new thread about Eastern Ukraine.
Don't forget, Ukraine has a long history of Russian and European intervention that starts with Oleg of Novgorod conquering Kiev, in 882, to create Kievan Rus'. Since then, Russia has fought with Poland and Lithuania, Germany, and Austria (to name a few) in west/east land grabs that were still happening when the October Revolution began. I think the west half was still under Polish control during WW2 and there were more than 4 Ukrainian States at that time. So it wasn't just Russia that wanted Ukraine.