„U.S. Told Ukraine to Stand Down as Putin Invaded.“
---

I heard this idea from many analysts in Ukraine, but it was kind of unproven opinions.  
Till recently, when [this article](http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-08-21/u-s-told-ukraine-to-stand-down-as-putin-invaded) on Bloomberg appeared, explaining everything in details.

Sorry for a long quote, but it really answers the question completely. Markup is mine.

> As Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces took over Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in early 2014, the interim Ukrainian government **was debating whether or not to fight back** against the "little green men" Russia had deployed.  
But the message from the Barack Obama administration was clear: **avoid military confrontation with Moscow.**

> The White House's message to Kiev was advice, not an order, U.S. and Ukrainian officials have recently told us, and was based on a variety of factors.

> 1. There was **a lack of clarity** about what Russia was really doing on the ground.
> 1. The Ukrainian military was **in no shape** to confront the Russian Spetsnaz (special operations) forces that were swarming on the Crimean peninsula.
> 1. Moreover, the Ukrainian government in Kiev **was only an interim administration** until the country would vote in elections a few months later. Ukrainian officials told us that other European governments sent Kiev a similar message.

> 1. But the main concern was Russian President Vladimir Putin.

>  As **U.S. officials told us recently**, the White House feared that if the Ukrainian military fought in Crimea, **it would give Putin justification to launch greater military intervention** in Ukraine, using similar logic to what Moscow employed in 2008 when Putin invaded large parts of Georgia in response to a pre-emptive attack by the Tbilisi government. Russian forces occupy two Georgian provinces to this day.

There are more proofs and direct speech of U.S. officials within the article.

---

**A note.** The article mistakenly uses the word "Putin" instead of "Russian people". Putin himself is a product of Russian citizens, 89% of which do support the war.

*Ref.:* [Putin’s approval rating hits historic high at 89 percent ](http://www.rt.com/politics/269434-russia-putin-record-rating/) — "Russia Today" TV propaganda channel.

So it is incorrect to say, "Putin invaded" or "Putin committed a terrorist strike" or "Putin is a war criminal".  
If (when) Putin suddenly disappears, it would not change the attitude of the Russian population.

So the war criminals are 89% of Russian population. And, as the article suggests, the U.S. official have feared that **a horde of 125 million** (out of 140) **would demand a greater war**.