UncleDirtNap: dkulprit: Why tho?

Wasn't Russian talking heads saying Kazakhstan next after Ukraine?

They might actually have a chance if they tried Kazakhstan unlike Ukraine...  As long as they go in with what they have now.  Kazakhstan couldn't even put down unarmed protests last year.

Initially, then once the resistance started up it could be another cluster.

Every country in Central Asia has significant populations of the ethnic groups in neighboring nations. Soviets designed the republic borders that way to make them unstable if they ever became independent.

So while invading a Central Asia country might have been easier, in some ways, than going after Ukraine, the conflict would likely ripple out. And China has several belt and road projects in the area, as well as an important gas pipeline.