Thailand was never colonized for two main reasons: It was a vital buffer. Thailand was between British and French territories; Myanmar and Malaysia were British while Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam were French. The British and French were enemies. Ukraine might become a buffer.
If Ukraine ever joins NATO and Puting only hears this afterwards, invading Ukraine will get NATO on Putin's head. As long as it is not written, agreed and signed Putin has nothing.
You really have no clue what you are talking about. You think you are smart but you are not. This post from 2015 proofs how smart you are: " apple is a lot like oil. People seem to refuse to look at it realistically. Jobs is gone. There are a lot of good smart phones out there (iphone is no longer king or even bishop). Most every new apple product is an over hyped reach that failed (now they are piling into the driverless cars bandwagon). Did I mention Jobs is gone." https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/aapl-is-going-down-to-35-40-range.293843/#post-4169304
There is something beyond that though; something personal. In Putin's case, something that can only come from earned respect. Sadly for Putin, poisoning and jailing one's political rivals is not the way to earn respect: fear yes, but not respect. You can say Putin didn't do these things, others did. But that's not the point, because no one can argue that he wasn't capable of stopping it. Putin is incapable of earning the respect of the of the Western powers. He is Russia's Achilles Heel.
This is a practical point you make, and a keen observation. But it does nothing for the amazing Russian nation or the wonderful people of Russia. And don't Russians, and the rest of us too, believe we should be long past the age when national boundaries are determined by force? If the the boundary between Russia and Ukraine is ill-drawn, then Armies are not the tool to correct this error. Let the Diplomats make the correction. Isn't that why we pay them? Why do we pay them, if not to prevent our dying in unnecessary and stupid wars?
Is it possible your information is "contaminated." Have you considered that the Russian Army, under Putin, has made disinformation their weapon of choice? In this age of the internet, we all must be on guard against disinformation.