It happened because Russia invaded Crimea.
Russia has been trying to break the post war global hegemony going back to when it was still the USSR.
#22 | Posted by snoofy
Let's take a look at why Russia annexed Crimea, shall we?
Looks like assurances were made to Gorbachev that there would always be a buffer zone, as it were, between NATO and Russia. It was the price for the USSR to not suppress the breakdown of the Warsaw Pact. Assurances that were broken when "the West" started pushing for Ukraine's entry to NATO.
Crimea's been home to the USSR's Black Sea Fleet and recipient of huge infrastructure investments for the last century that Russia wasn't giving up willingly.
To say this mess is all on Putin is simplistic.
nsarchive.gwu.edu
Since I am not a native Minnesotan, I have no desire to try it.
Posted by Chantresse
I know many natives that wouldn't touch it with your 10 ft pole, either. You betcha.