My sense is the Russians had their reality check, with the fall of the Soviet Union and now the West is getting a bit out over their skis. Would you really trust the likes of Johnson and Biden backing you?

Ukraine is like the little kid being told by the big kids, that if he pokes the bear, the big kids will let him join their club. Lenin referred to those willing to let themselves be manipulated by others as "useful idiots."

At the end of the day, Ukraine sits on the fault line between East and West, so either it finds a way to be a bridge, or it's the battleground.