Whether we and the Ukrainians like it or not, Ukraine is still a buffer state within Moscow's sphere of influence. The US has little more leverage there than Russia has in Canada. And since ethnic Russians outnumber ethnic Ukrainians in the Crimea by more than two-to-one, a Russian invasion of that part of the country is a bit like a French invasion of Quebec—troublesome indeed, and infuriating to the capital, but different from, say, a North Korean invasion of Quebec. That's why Russia could take it without firing a shot and why nobody shot at the Russians.

Pity the Vassals of Moscow (4 March 2014)