Investment Times

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions in Ukraine are not in doubt. He wants to end its status as an independent political entity and incorporate its territory within the Russian Federation. In his opinion, achieving this goal would undo two great historical errors committed in the last century: first, allowing a Ukrainian republic to exist within the Soviet Union, and, second, allowing this republic to become an independent nation-state. How likely is this outcome? In theory, the Russian army could slog brutally across Ukraine’s vast plains for many years, reducing its urban centers to rubble. But one lesson from the areas...