putin ran the kgb station in east germany. he was devastated when the ussr brock up, and he s broke up, and he s nostalgic for a return to the evil empire that reagan denounced. and so, yes, it is absolutely believable that this person who has assassinated former members of his government, who has attempted to poison political opponents, who s invaded two of his neighbors is absolutely believable that he would find it a lot more convenient to just install a russian leader as the new president of ukraine in a political coup. that s the sort of thing that vlad vladimir putin has always done, and no one has ever challenged him. putin is the neighborhood bully, and nobody has ever given this