I am no strategist...

but in an effort to avoid nuclear Armageddon to the inevitable destruction of civilisation...I'm going to put this out there...why don't we agree to leave Ukraine alone? No NATO, No Soviet back catalogue. - a buffer zone. Spies will meddle from both sides but that happens everywhere. Just let the people in the Ukraine get a coffee and shop their markets. Its not rocket science. (look where rocket science got us).