I completely agree about the Russian brain drain issue, and about the extreme cost of sending young Russian men (many of whom are only sons) off to die. All of it, on all sides, is a huge waste and tragedy.

However, with regards to your statement about overt military operations threatening Russia, have you considered all the covert stuff? The CIA have been running operations in Ukraine for a long time and I think it would be fair to say that the Orange Revolution was helped along by Western intelligence agencies.