What Drives Russian Leader's Ukraine Brinkmanship?

To Putin, Russians and Ukrainians are ‘one people’ – a belief widely shared by many in his country

MOSCOW • As the Kremlin masses troops near Ukraine, it is signalling one core conviction: Russia cares more about the fate of its south-western neighbour than the West ever will.

In speeches, interviews and lengthy articles, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his close associates have telegraphed a singular fixation this year on the former Soviet republic.

The Kremlin thesis goes that Ukrainians are “one people” with Russians, living in a failing state controlled by Western forces determined to divide and conquer the post-Soviet world.

Ukrainians, who ousted a Russia-friendly president in 2014 and are increasingly in favour of binding their country to Western institutions, would largely beg to differ.

But Mr Putin’s conviction finds a receptive ear among many Russians, who see themselves as linked intimately with Ukraine by generations of linguistic, cultural, economic, political and family ties.

Now, with a force of 175,000 Russian troops poised to be in position near Ukraine by early next year, in what Western officials fear could be a prelude to an invasion, centuries of shared history loom large.