美国前国家安全顾问兹比格涅夫•布热津斯基写道没有乌克兰的俄罗斯“不再成其为帝国，但俄罗斯一旦收买并收服乌克兰，那就自然而然恢复了帝国的身份。
Russia without Ukraine, former US National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote, “ceases to be an empire, but Russia with Ukraine suborned and then subordinated, Russia automatically becomes an empire.”