really firing a shot, and get the rest of the world to agree. And if that doesn't seem to work, gin up "atrocities" and "terror" to keep invading what he wants to slice off.

The USSR is the one Americans are aware off, but trust me, the old empire is re-flexing it's muscles.

Best: they are using their military to trample Ukrainian sovereignty in a way that will huliliate the Ukrainians but prevent a Balkan like spiral of death.

Worst case: they will do the above but take it farther and make all Ukrain a Russian sattellite again.

It wants to essentially test the international community to see how much it can possibly get away with until the world says no.

And unfortunately, Ukraine is its guinea pig.

Putin needs to be throughoughly ostracized.

Are all on conference calls along with all of EU, NATO, Japan and other allies working up a package that will shut Putin the fuck down,

Bring it on you short, flabby little KGB agent. We will bury you.

I think Putin has never accepted the loss of super power identity. He's been flexing Russian muscle for some time with hot birds (nuclear armed) flying near the boards of various European nations and other military near threats. Been trying to dray the US into something by arming and stirring trouble up in client states like Syria and Iran. So far the US and allies have not risen to the bait. But who knows what may come?

Ukrainian nationalists have a choice of learning to play nice with the Eastern part of the country and having a big Ukraine or being hostile toward Russia and having at most a smaller (but ethnically homogeneous) Ukrainian state in the Western side.

Obama and the EU leaders will be lucky to strike a deal with Putin that leaves the rest of their precious Ukraine intact.

Note that many of the protest leaders in Kyiv are from the Lviv region. That part of Ukraine, which was formerly Polish and Czechoslovakian prior to WW II is more trouble than it is worth to Russia. It is also mainly agricultural, and not much use to the EU which already has agricultural surpluses and high agricultural subsidies. It is somewhat unlikely that the EU will want to let West Ukraine join. There are already more Slavic plumbers in London that the Brits really want.

Crimea. The only thing left to secure is the gas fields.