I've been on that base. Very old aircraft. They were converting it to helos.
Ukraine demilitarized due to several factors including:
Promises by US
Corruption -
At that point Russia was not a threat.
Myhrgorod was a much better air base.
Kuchma was a Russian puppet.
Yanukovich was less a puppet than given credit for but still corrupt.
Yushenko was a communist central banker and didn't have that personal power to rebuild the military.
At the beginning of Donbas/Crimea conflict Ukraine's army was awful The US went directly to the far right battalions (neo nazi and really did). Azov kicked the Russians badly at Mariupol which is why Putin was determined to destroy Maruipol and Azov.
As far back as 2007, the Ukrainian military was squaring off against the "national guard" battalions around Kyiv. Yushenko didn't have full military control. There were massive demonstrations on the Maidan with nationalists including neo nazi, federalists and pro Russian including communist groups. Yanukovich had a grasp on much of the Federal troops (or at least had a strong influence) and Yushenko the 'guards". In March/April 2007 it came to a crisis on the verge of civil war. By May, Yushenko managed to control the interior ministry federal forces and things quieted down until not long before Maidan with the blood bath at Odesa where Russian supplied Georgian revolutionaries tried to cause issues at a soccer match but they fled to a building where they were burned alive.
All of this has been brewing since the Soviet system collapse where Russian Communist Managers gained control of assets (suddenly capitalists) and stole public assets. Another collapse happened in the late 90s.
This isn't about "sudden" Russian aggression, but a fight decades in the making. As I have said though, most Ukrainians, even Russian Ukrainians want to be in Ukraine, but also want to be left alone period. The political battle to de Russian Ukraine is huge, even over language.... Kiev, Kyiv. Dneipre, Dneipro.
