As I write this, Putin is having trouble conquering the Ukraine. It is a country the size of Texas. The Russian army is encircling Kyiv and Kharkov and many smaller communities. Their points of attack are spread over 800 miles of the Ukraine’s border. Retired American generals have commented on the poor planning and execution of it. Poor logistics has led to armored columns running out of fuel and ammunition. His plan was contingent upon the Ukrainian army collapsing and the population not rising up in front of them or behind them which has been a huge error.

            Stalin was faced with a similar situation in November 1939 when he decided to invade Finland.
His generals were incompetent and the Finns put up a great defense. They put up one defensive line after another for three months ending with a treaty ceding the eastern half of the country. Stalin was afraid of the Finns who were anti-communist and supported Hitler while being so close to major cities in Russia. When Hitler invaded Russia, his troops were accompanied by six Finnish divisions.

            Many millions of Ukrainians died in Stalin’s purge and collective farm creation. Many of Hitler’s western divisions were composed of Ukrainian troops. One of those Divisions manned the west wall in June, 1944. When the war was over and they were sent back to Stalin’s clutches, few survived to go home. Later dictators moved hundreds of thousands of Russians into Ukraine.

            Putin, like Stalin, doesn’t trust today’s Ukrainians to not oppose him and Russia in some future conflict.