Ukraine to pass law scrapping NATO ambitions
 

That's what they get for electing Yanukovich.

I don't think it's terribly surprising that Ukraine has fallen back into Russia's orbit, especially with its chaotic politics and its dependence on Russia for energy. In retrospect, the hope of turning Ukraine more firmly toward the west may have been hoping for a three-bank shot.

Ukraine in NATO probably would not have been good for NATO or Ukraine. The cultural conflict between Russia & Ukraine is great and they might have had an intense Cold War which would have drawn in the Alliance and neither side could actually gain much.

Russia wants as many ethic Russians as they can get a hold of since they're dying so young.

Agreed, though the cultural conflict is part of a pretty powerful push-pull relationship. (Ukraine's west pushes, while Crimea and the eastern half pull.)

And the conflict probably wouldn't look like the Cold War. Rather than military, Moscow's threat to Kiev would have been primarily economic, especially energy.