"The remnants of the Czech lands themselves were also acquired by Germany with equally little loss of blood. The result was intended to be a solid launching pad for future aggression against the USSR:
• the new boundaries of the Reich now butted directly up against the borders of Soviet Ukraine, facing only a narrow (140-150 km.) strip of Polish territory.[3]
• unlimited numbers of German troops could be concentrated within lands controlled by the Reich, even if those areas had only recently been acquired.
• a very cozy situation was created, in which the USSR was able to watch German troops preparing for aggression, but could take no proactive measures without violating the sovereignty of Poland.
After the troops had been deployed and trained, all that would have been required was a pretext for war, which Hitler could easily have obtained from the Ukrainian nationalists. The "Soviet" part of Ukraine, crying out from under its yoke, could appeal to the Fuhrer with a request to be rescued from the Bolsheviks. This would be especially simple if the Reich created a kind of internal protectorate or administrative unit named "Ukraine," which could later absorb the remaining part. Thus there were many options, but all required, first and foremost, the annexation of Transcarpathian Ruthenia and Slovakia to the Reich. This was the main thing that Hitler had to do."
So Russia takes a page from Hitler's book? Turning history on its head?
― A.A. Milne, The World of Winnie-the-Pooh
