Please participate in a thought exercise for me, I want to try and explain the Ukraine-Russia dynamic to you in more relatable terms. I've lived in the post Soviet countries and the US an equal part of my life, both cultures and mentalities are present in me in equal parts.
Disclaimer: I did not address the Crimea issue simply because it really is a unique case. I can't think of an analogy that will do it justice. Sorry, but you'll just have to take our word on it unless someone else can supply a good enough analogy.
Imagine it this way - lets pretend that 20 years ago, California peacefully split from the rest of the US because of political reasons. For this thought exercise, just accept that as fact. As a side note, the new Republic of California accepted both English and Spanish as its national languages, and still does tons of trade with the US, as well as with Mexico. The Republic of California is recognized internationally and holds some sway with the UN.
Now fast forward to this year. The government of the Republic of California has had a history of corruption during the past twenty years, similar to the days of Al Capone, but some occasional civil unrest thrown in. Generally speaking, the south of the Republic of California is still largely Mexican (ethnically), while much of the northern public still refers to themselves offhandedly as "Americans". Everyone of these people are by nationality "Citizens of the Republic of California".
The corruption hits a breaking point, protests, riots in LA again, general civil unrest. The president of the Republic of California is ousted, and flees to DC. The Sacramento and San Francisco regions are calling for referendum to set up a new government. Many people are grumbling that things weren't this messy when the Republic of California was still part of the USA. Other groups, mostly in the south, are crying out about how great California was Mexican, and that the American influence has done nothing but harm to this great independent state for the last century and a half. These groups are often responsible for turning protests into violent riots. These southern reactionary political groups receive constant encouragement and resources from Mexico. International politicians give them political support and publicly proclaim that the violent riots are "progress towards freedom and democracy"
During the sudden unrest, these groups muscle their way into power as government of the Republic of California. The Republic of California is a mess, it is almost bankrupt, it can't pay to import oil from the USA, and civil unrest is still widespread. Despite this, the first thing the new government does is declare Spanish the ONLY national language, meaning immediate switching of all schools to use only Spanish. They make blatantly discriminatory statements against the people that still offhandedly refer to themselves as "American". San Francisco and Sacramento continue calling for democratic referendum.
Some of the pro-American crowd organize a protest in Los Angeles. A crowd of pro-Mexican supporters attack the protesters, chase them into the City Hall, barricade the exits to trap them, and set the building on fire. 40+ people die.
Northern California declares independence, in two primary regions - San Francisco and Sacramento, there is much talk of these regions rejoining the USA, which sends some officials to assist the Autonomous Region of San Francisco (ARSF) and Autonomous Region of Sacramento (ARS). Conscription is enacted and soldiers in the Republic of California, the ARS, and the ARSF are drafted into the military. The government of the Republic of California moves its armed forces north and begins assaulting the ARS and ARSF. Civilians are evacuating in droves to neighboring states. The ARS and ARSF fight back, but simply don't have the quantity of resources that the Republic of California has. The regions are headed and advised by the officials the USA sent over, as per the original request.
Meanwhile the international community - Europe, China, Russia, Brazil, India decry the USA, claiming it instigated the conflict, warn it that any military support towards the ARS and ARSF will not be tolerated. They enact sanctions against the US.
Pictures and videos circulate the internet of soldiers of the ARS and ARSF with American flag stickers and patches on their uniforms and vehicles. The international public claims that this is absolute proof that the United States is secretly conducting military action against the Republic of California.
A passenger plane flying from Nicaragua to Canada is shot down in the midst of the fighting, the remains are scattered from Santa Cruz to San Jose. The international community immediately assumes that the USA is either directly responsible, or at least responsible in providing AA missiles to the ARS/ARSF. Putin publicly denounces Obama for allowing this to happen. Over the course of a week global opinion is that the ARS/ARSF armed forces intentionally/unintentionally shot down the aircraft with armament provided by the USA. Beyone a few grainy videos of a missile carrier and a sound byte of a confusing phone conversation, no actual evidence has been provided by anyone, beyond the USA releasing all radar data of the incident, and asking for Russia to provide satellite data, as a Russian satellite was overhead at the time. Russia declines, citing the need to keep its satellite capabilities secret (nevermind that it has provided similar info in many previous incidents, and that the USA requested the satellite by designation, proving it already knew the capabilities).
The Republic of California continues with its offensive, civilian casualties mounting constantly. Demands for a cease fire from both the USA and the international community to investigate the downing of the plane are ignored, as they are worried that letting up on the assault will give the ARS/ARSF time to regroup.
I posted this to /r/UkraineConflict, where it did predictably poorly. I hope those of you here are willing to give it more of a chance.
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