I think the likelihood is that Xi isn't actually reckless or short-sighted enough to do this, and I don't think there's as cozy a relationship between Beijing and Moscow as it sometimes appears (though their arguments for ethno-nationalist claims on neighboring sovereign territories overlap a lot).
I think Putin's endgame here is basically to empty Ukraine out via a refugee crisis, install a puppet regime, and then reap the benefits of Ukraine's famed richness of natural resources and strategic location.
I am positive that Xi told VLad at the Olympics not to screw up his time in the sun, please wait to invade until next week...Xi can buy a bunch of Russian oil to help out his pal.
As for Putins end game, who knows? He longs for the good olde days of the USSR, would not mind adding a few more republics if he can get away with it.
For sure this...while they aren't likely to sign on the dotted line of any sort of traditional alliance anytime soon, Xi will have no compunction about buying up Russian oil, which Vlad will appreciate in the wake of the heavy sanctions that are coming from pretty much everywhere else.
This is also 100% true. Belarus is basically already a Russian puppet; in fact, it served as a key staging ground for some of the ongoing land invasions. Georgia is also on the list (you might recall that Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, which now looks an awful lot like a practice run for what's happening now).
I take solace in one thing, Putin's age. Keeping a firm grip on dictatorships is a much younger man's game. Dictators of large, diverse countries don't last much past 70. You want to stay in the dictator game long term and die of natural causes in your 80s, best to keep to a small island nation. Even then, the odds aren't in your favor, but they are better.
A little slow in putting in my request for NCAA Tourney tickets. Put in for Dallas, San Antonio, and New Orleans. This is when I’ll regret not donating more to Iron Dukes.
Will go to the Duke-Baylor baseball game this Saturday.
I'm on the verge of flaming in the Russia/Ukraine thread.