Carryover from the real crisis discussion thread, here is the hypothetical situation:
Putin has become convinced that he cannot move into SE Ukraine without risking a military confrontation with NATO forces. Therefore, he assists with overthrowing the existing Ukrainian government and installs a puppet government in its place that immediately "requests" the presence of Russian troops on Ukrainian soil in order to deter EU and NATO "aggression."
Questions:
1: How likely a scenario is this? (The US has been doing exactly this for decades)
2: What would the internal political consequences be for Putin?
3: How would NATO and the EU react?
Putin has become convinced that he cannot move into SE Ukraine without risking a military confrontation with NATO forces. Therefore, he assists with overthrowing the existing Ukrainian government and installs a puppet government in its place that immediately "requests" the presence of Russian troops on Ukrainian soil in order to deter EU and NATO "aggression."
Questions:
1: How likely a scenario is this? (The US has been doing exactly this for decades)
2: What would the internal political consequences be for Putin?
3: How would NATO and the EU react?