It's pretty wild. We've learned that Putin doesn't really think in fixed positions as much as he says, so it'll be interesting to see how things go from here.

It's pretty wild. We've learned that Putin doesn't really think in fixed positions as much as he says, so it'll be interesting to see how things go from here. Putin prefers to think more situationally and kind of saves up his logic for the moment that arrives, previous statements notwithstanding. So any prior statements about Crimea were just as likely due to the burden of needing to reassure specific Russians living there at the time, and there's really no specific red line, even though one might be figured out looking back on all this someday...