### Comment:
Historically speaking Russia has always been freaked out by its neighbors and sought to control buffer states next to it. Couldn't tell you why but all sorts of pre-WW2 historians would tell you the same. I doubt this has changed and so I wouldn't be surprised if it just tried to prop up proxy govs  in places like Ukraine and so on rather than trying to directly annex them.

### REPLY:
I agree.

### END.