Ukraine’s dysfunction on display

while they know that voting the right way can get them 10 times that.

The opposition has done no better at staying united since 2014 than it did after 2004. The war in the east is largely a charade (although real people get killed in it), and it’s widely known that Poroshenko and Putin frequently have amiable late-night telephone conversations. Presumably they are discussing business deals, since there’s no money in talking about politics.

So what are the odds that the two men might one day cut a deal that ends the war? It’s possible. Putin wants an end to sanctions and, given certain guarantees, he’d be happy to see the two rebel provinces rejoin Ukraine.

‘‘Russia wants the regions (controlled by proRussian militants) re-integrated as a blocking share in the Ukrainian political system,’’ explained Andrei Kortunov, director-general of the Russian International Affairs Council, in 2016.

‘‘The aim is to guarantee that Ukraine does not join NATO or move too far from Russia.’’

The real obstacle to a deal now is probably Crimea. Russian nationalism won’t let Putin give it back, and Ukrainian nationalism won’t allow Poroshenko to let it go. But if the United States wants to ensure that there is no deal, it might try giving Kiev enough modern weapons to get things moving again on the military front.