Vermithrax]I am quite curious as to what Russia's next move will be and even more curious as to what Putin's long term plans are. I mean in the Cold War, there was at least a goal (we assume) of spreading communism. What is their goal now? Crimea was a bold move but not one that he would likely get away with a 2nd time. So what's next? I guess time will tell.
Crimea-Offensive opportunism, regain lost territory in their sphere of influence.
Ukraine-Defensive proxy war, cockblock Ukraine's entrance into NATO by locking them in an ongoing conflict (NATO charter says no entry with an ongoing conflict/border dispute, can't remember the exact language)
Syria-Offensive opportunism, Iraq war fiasco left the US wavering on intervention and Russia pounced to hijack the peacekeeping role to try and build a coalition with Iran/Iraq/Syria.
