I could see early on what a fool's errand it was for Russia to have much to do with most of Ukraine, and certainly to occupy said parts.  And I stated it here on this board in my prediction that Russia wouldn't do much in the central and Eastern parts.  If/when necessary the Russians might mow the law in those parts, but sticking around any longer than necessary would be pointless and threaten to spread the blight.  It did take me a long time to comprehend and accept the depths to which the Ukrainian people sunk and I'm still trying to get my head around it.  How much of that depth was achieved since 2014 under the care and feeding of Nuland and her Neocons is unknown to me.