>

That seemed a reasonable take -- but then I kept hearing how they have successfully convinced that same random Josef that his wife's family and half of his own cousins are sub-human garbage that should be raped and slaughtered. So I don't think they're as afraid of a successful Ukraine as we think. I think Putin simply wants their resources.
I'm intrigued as to what "Russia's concerns" could possibly be, and if they could potentially remedy these concerns themselves. >

From a propaganda perspective their "concern" is that Ukraine is run by "nazis." From a real perspective their concern is that Ukraine is aligning with the west rather than being a buffer zone between NATO and Russia. >

Russia is also worried about a Russian-speaking country with an intimately intertwined history, shared religious traditions, and many cross-border families cleaning up its government, modernizing its institutions, and improving the quality of life of its citizens. That's the kind of thing that might give Russian citizens dangerous "ideas" and "aspirations" and might even cause them to pursue some of that change at home. It is a lot easier to convince some random Josef that Europeans or Americans are somehow decadent, heathen, and alien than it is to convince him of the same thing about his wife's family and half of his own cousins. Russia decided that the best solution to the grass being greener on the other side of the fence was to knock down the fence and torch the yard.