Complete nonsense. Under international law the only just cause for attacking another country is self defense, so Putin's Russia has demonstrated utter contempt for international law as well as agreements such as the Budapest MOU it signed in 1994 in which it pledged to recognize Ukraine as an independent state and to respect its borders which including Crimea. Putin's Russia is an abomination and has no place among civilized nations.
They recognised Crimea back in 2014 and DPR and LPR in February as independent states. Same way as the USA recognised Kosovo. And they signed the treaty about mutual defense with them. So, Ukrainian attack against DPR and LPR was equal to direct Ukrainian attack against the Russian Federation herself. It's collective self-defense from their point of view.
The 2014 invasion was in violation of international law and in violation of previous Russian agreements with and regarding Ukraine and the Minsk agreement was signed by Ukraine with a gun to its head. Both the Donbas and Crimea remain occupied Ukraine. Russia will have to withdraw from both if it even hopes to gain relief from sanctions or to stop losing 10,000 soldiers a month.
Sanctions? What kind of sanctions are you talking about? Renaming 'McDonald' in 'Mc' (Burger King and KFC were not even renamed)? Or renaming bad 'Russian oil' in good 'Latvian mix'? Sure, it's not 'business as usual', but it is pretty close to it. And skyrocketed fuel prices more than compensated them all those little conveniences. And no, the regular Russian Army (without counting People's Militia of DPR and LPR, Rosguard, Border Guard of FSB, etc) have lost less than 5 thousand soldiers, but already won more than 7 million of the ethnic Russian civilians in the Eastern Ukraine. They will have much more conscripts from those lands than they can lost in the conflict.
One problem with that position. No matter what language they speak, the citizens of Ukraine are UKRANIANS. Unless your position is that French speaking Canadians are actually French and English speaking Canadians are English?
No, Only Russia recognized those states, the UNITED NATIONS recognized the split up of the Balkan countries. It's like having the USA recognize Texas or California as independent countries before the ACW. No other nation recognized them. Or if I recognize the sky is red. Because one entity makes a claim nothing makes it true or acceptable to the rest of the world.
The problem is that it matters for the citizens of Ukraine. Ethnic Ukrainians from the western regions do not consider ethnic Russians, Jews and Tatars from the Souther and Eastern Ukraine as Ukrainians. They try to force them to speak Ukrainian language only, because the language matters for them.
You say "the rest of the world" too often... are you afraid to be alone?
There is no need in the UN recognition. Actually, only 50% of the UN members recognized independence of Kosovo.
Technically, the Russians can't say that the 'sky is blue (in American understanding of the term)', because they don't have such a word. English 'blue' is divided in Russian in two different colors - 'siniy' and 'goluboy'. 'Nebo goluboye' they say.
But what would be the point of declaring these regions independent or annexing them? To the rest of the world, they will remain occupied Ukraine, and the sanctions will continue and the weapons will continue to flow into Ukraine and Russia will continue to lose 10,000 soldiers a month until it withdraws from Ukraine. War, isolation, an increasingly troubled economy, civil unrest are the new normal for Russia until it withdraws from Ukraine.
First of all - they don't allow Ukraine join NATO and don't allow NATO to deploy medium range ballistic missiles there. Second - they protect ethnic-Russian civilian population in the 'liberated' regions from discrimination and genocide. Third - they increase price of the fossil fuel and sell lesser amount of it for a bigger price - which significantly increase their incomes. Fourth - energy poverty in Europe won't allow Europeans to produce significant amount of weapons. Fifth - they prefer to kill anti-Russian nationalists in the open field rather then in Russian cities. More Nazies killed in Ukraine - more safe it is in Russia.
Actually, Russia don't lost 10,000 soldiers a month. Ukraine lost more than 10,000 (more close to 20,000 KIA a month). What is even more important, Ukraine is losing it's population in refugees. 7 million already left Kiev-controlled areas. So, right now, say 20 millions remain there. Kievan regime (not very popular in Ukraine) will be able to conscript (but not properly train) say, 200,000 soldiers. 10 months more and Kievan regime will be out of militants. They already sent poorly trained 'Volksturm' in Donbass. And yes, talking about 'rest of the world' - at least 85% of the Earth population don't care about Ukraine at all, but they do care about safety of their money. The Russian case clearly demonstrated that dollar as a trading currency may be really unreliable.
There are no civil unrests in Russia right now. The Russians (at least 80% of them) support this operation, and at least half of those who don't support the current actions want escalate (to the level of a local, or even regional war), not deescalate it. They don't like when somebody try to genocide them.
Russia always falsely accuses everyone else of Russia's own crimes. It is one of the reasons why Russia is evil.
There is no such anti-Russian genocide. That's all a Russian fabrication.
Nonsense.
No one is forcing anyone to speak anything. But if someone is living in Ukraine it would be helpful for them to be able to speak Ukrainian.
That never happened. The only people who are terrorizing the Russian-speaking Ukrainians, are the Russian soldiers who have invaded Ukraine.
NATO was never trying to place missiles in Ukraine. That may change in the future in response to Russia's continued aggression though.
They were never in danger of such from Ukraine. The only danger that is posed to ethnic Russian Ukrainians, is posed by Russia.
Not too likely that they will be selling very much.
America will produce the weapons. They will be deployed in eastern Europe.
The only neonazis in Ukraine are the Russian invaders.
Russia's military was devastated by the defenses around Kyiv. Russian losses would have been catastrophic.
The Ukrainian government is universally popular in Ukraine. Ethnic Russian Ukrainians love the current Ukrainian government.
NATO is providing the training.
Nonsense.
No such genocide.
You have faithfully reproduced what you read in the Putin News, but you didn't answer the question, what's the point of declaring these regions independent or annex them when the rest of the world will continued to see them as Occupied Ukraine?
Both sides suffer losses, but the Russian losses are so severe that the Russian parliament has passed a bill to erase
Are you completely mad?
I'm completely sane and you are just having trouble accepting the facts.
