BBC NEWS: Russia to boost ties with Ukraine

[SealLion]

There's only a few reasons why Russia, in my mind, would seek closer ties with Ukraine. Most especially after there were many suspicions on the internation scene of having attempted in a plot to poison Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko a few years back.

Some of you may recall that.

Anyways....

Russia is to send an ambassador to Kiev for the first time in five months, following the electoral defeat of Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko.

President Dmitry Medvedev had appointed Mikhail Zurabov last year, but refused to send him to Ukraine, accusing Mr Yushchenko of "anti-Russian" policies.

That's true with respect to the anti-Russia sentiment in Ukraine politics at that time and most likely also into the present.
That's actually not new.

apparantly, there was an election in Ukraine in which I am guessing the Russians would want better relations with the new Ukrainian leader.

Mr Medvedev said he hoped relations under the new president would be "constructive" and "friendly".

But there's underlying reasons for that of/c.

Let's have a look at the current situation in Ukraine. As far as I know, Ukraine was promised NATO partnership in 2008, yes??

At the April 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, NATO agreed to the accession of Croatia and Albania and invited them to join. Both countries joined NATO in April 2009. Ukraine and Georgia were also told that they will eventually become members..........NATO's expansion policy is seen by Moscow as a continuation of a Cold War attempt to surround and isolate Russia.

LINK

So what do you think that this would all entail, other than NATO expansion further and further along Russia's frontier??
Well, there's missile defense,...or...offense along Russia's borders.

and with missles also comes the matter of defense:

Currently Ukraine's military is the second largest in Europe, after that of Russia.

LINK

That would be a lot of troops for anyone who's an ally of Ukraine. And if Russia would have it's way, those troops would be friendly troops to Russia. Not antagonistic as Russia, in a way, see's the expansion of NATO.

Containment, anyone??

The US really does want to be an empire, doesn't it??

\There's more at the link of course:

BBC News - Russia to boost ties with Ukraine