If these are indeed Russian troops, this is an act of external aggression against a NATO member. By treaty, we supposed to come to their defense. I don’t want this, but I’d rather have us fucking up the Russians than meddling in the ME. While Ukraine is hardly part of the cradle of Western Civilization or much of a democracy, we’re closer to them culturally than we ever will be to any of the pseudo-royal dictatorships in the ME.
Ukraine’s not a NATO member, but on their border, you’ve got NATO members Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Moldova is between parts of Ukraine and Romania, and they’ll be more of a concern as Russia invades further into Ukraine. Moldova’s so poor, Russia probably doesn’t want the headache, but they don’t want them in NATO, either. IMO this is a mess that can only get worse the more the west lets Putin get away with, so I hope some really harsh, decisive action gets approved this week. Personally, I think we should be arming the Ukrainian military to whatever extent lets them repel the invaders, but if we can’t do that, military intelligence, funding, and the harshest possible sanctions in the international banking system would be appropriate.
Russia already invaded Moldova decades ago, and set up a secessionist state that functions mainly as a criminal enterprise.