But surely even you can see the irony in the author's key point which even he doesn't clearly understand-   namely that Ukraine's weakness makes it susceptible to outside influence regardless of where that influence is coming from. 

Of course  if it's Russia doing the influencing that is bad - but owing 10 billion to the IMF and doing western bidding? Well that kind of external meddling is apparently ok.

 A weak state is a weak state is a weak state. 

The oligarchs get that . They are no more interested in losing influence and power to western interests than they are to Russia - With Poroshenko now so weak it is they who are  running the show and they will do what is in their interests and that means working with both Russia and the West.