genuinely do not understand Putin's motivation here

This is all Western propaganda

He doesn't want to invade. He wants Biden to stop war-mongering in Europe.

Explain?

Putin wants to destroy any pro-democracy, pro-Western movement in former soviet nations. Because if it can happen in Ukraine, it can happen in Russia proper.

Best not to think in terms of pure economics. He doesn't care if he impoverishes his citizens.

Plus he wants to try to drive a wedge into NATO.

Pretty simple, really.

Pro Democracy?

Like is happening in Canada?

Apartheid Israel?

Says our Russian troll.

carmine if you ever had any true lack of freedom in your life you might stop your trolling and switch to spending your time being an actual advocate for freedom.

Complete non-sequitur. We're talking about Ukraine. Surely there are issues we're facing at home but that's not the point of this thread.

I think Putin is reaching his shelf life as a dictator. And he knows that. This is a last ditch effort before Russia collapses.

Putin isn't doing this all for himself. He is doing this for the future of Russia. Nothing is more valuable than land. Ukraine may be poor now. In the years to come, the sanctions will fade away, but the territorial accession will be permanent. Borders rarely change in the modern world, and any chance to expand them is of tremendous national advantage, irrespective of temporary sanctions.

Russia has enough land.

Open image

Putin. Does.Not.Care.About.Russia.
He only cares about his survival. He does not want to spend the rest of his life in jail or be hunted down like Ceausescu. He needs to drive down any pro-democratic or pro-West movement in the former soviet republics in order for him to survive. He was actually in East Germany when he felt the pro-West mob defy his authority. He knows what could happen to him if a similar mob got going in Russia.

And yeah Russia already has way more land than it could ever use.

Hard to fathom that many wealthy Russians are good with risking a future of limited travel, limited foreign business and banking, property ownership, etc.

I mean, if among the sanctions to be imposed are not: "Russia and Russians are ostracized from polite society" then we aren't serious about this. Presumably all Russians in western countries would be sent packing and their property would be forfeited. Presumably no flights to or from Russia. They can vacation at home. No Russia at any sporting contests. No Russian students, no trade.

I can't imagine wealthy Russians would risk all this?

What you don't understand is your own motive. Why are you jerking off to fear porn? In public at that. Go somewhere private and fret about this non-existent invasion

* You stated no natural resources. Not accurate. Ukraine has large lithium deposits.

* When a nation truly wants to attack, there's an attempt to be stealth. Staging app. 190,000 military & civil Russian personnel on Ukraine's border? The opposite of stealth.

* Ukraine is begging to be a N.A.T.O. member. U.S. hints Ukraine may be allowed in N.A.T.O. some day. Putin does not want Ukraine to be a N.A.T.O. nation. To ensure Ukraine is not a N.A.T.O. nation in a few months or a few years, Putin sees the logic of making Ukraine a territory of Russia.

* U.S. is threatening massive sanctions. If so, in a few months, other European nations will ignore U.S. trade sanctions on Russia. Other European nations will quietly trade with Russia in a few months no matter what is said on ABCnews/CBSnews/NBCnews/NYTimes/WaPo/WSJ/FOXnews/CNN/PBSnews.

this is an interesting twist...that by invading, the oligarchs might lose their western assets. That might serve as a counterweight here. That Putin knows they would have him killed if the yachts and London homes get taken away after an invasion. This is why the Ukrainian president is today asking the West to announce what sanctions will be thrown on Russia. So Putin would get some calls from Oleg in St Moritz wondering what Putin is doing.

There is a lot of bullion and other riches in Ukraine. It make sense that Russia would want to capture and utilize it to increase the prosperity of all Russia's citizens.

So! Wigins! Why exactly are 190,000 Russian troops on the Ukrainian border? Which is way more than prior post-Soviet exercises.

What's going on here?

yeah Putin has always put the prosperity of Russian citizens very high on his list of priorities. /sarcasm.