Russia is not trying to conquer Ukraine; Putin is in the process of wrecking Ukraine. And he’s telling the west in very simple terms; you have two choices ;“ You either either back off, and we go back to the status quo anti before 22/Feb/14 where Ukraine is a buffer state. Or, you continue to play these games, where you try and take Ukraine and make it a western bastion on our doorstep, in which case; we’ll wreck the country. “ And they are of course now in the process and they’re going to keep this conflict going for as long as it takes.