Quote (Goomshill @ Sep 18 2023 11:18pm)
Crimean and the Donbas weren't territories that "didn't belong to a specific country" prior to 2014. They belonged to Ukraine. A country led by a legitimate elected government, with territorial integrity and representative democracy recognized by both east and west.
That country ceased to exist after a violent revolution in 2014 and the Maidan regime that took over no longer held control of the ethnic Russian oblasts which held independence referendums.
And that revolution then put all that international recognition and treaties into abrogation. As tends to be the case when a lawful democracy is overthrown by insurrectionists.
I'm not sure how you fail to grasp this very very basic concept of "Possession is nine tenths of the law". If you don't control a territory, you don't control it. Its a tautology. The Ukraine that existed prior to 2014 is not the same Ukraine that existed after the CIA-backed coup d'etat overthrew the democracy and replaced it with a US state department handpicked puppet government. Ukraine did have legitimate claim to Crimea, until they didn't. Ukraine existed as a country that encompassed those regions, until it didn't. The Ukraine that exists today has never held those regions at any point and has no claim to them. The violent revolution seized control of Kiev, but it did not seize control of Sevastapol.
Not an accurate representation of events in 2014.
"In November 2013, a wave of large-scale protests (known as Euromaidan) began in response to President Yanukovych's sudden decision not to sign a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), instead choosing closer ties to Russia. Earlier that year, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) had overwhelmingly approved finalizing the agreement with the EU.[26] Russia had put pressure on Ukraine to reject it.
On 21 February, Yanukovych and the parliamentary opposition signed an agreement to bring about an interim unity government, constitutional reforms and early elections.[32] Police abandoned central Kyiv that afternoon and the protesters took control. Yanukovych fled the city that evening.[33]
The next day, 22 February, the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove Yanukovych from office by 328 to 0 (about 73% of the parliament's 450 members)."
In between these events on Yanukovychs orders 108 protestors were killed by security forces that included at least guidance from Russian FSB.
Following this Russia illegally annexed Crimea.
It's accurate to say Yanukoych had his core support in the East and Russian speaking territories. Perhaps it explains his decision to go against the diplomatic will of the Ukrainian parliament and its people, in abandoning the ratified decision for closer ties with Europe.
Perhaps it was Russian pressure, persuasion or threats. Maybe a combination.
It's not accurate to say this was a CIA invoked coup.
This was a popular uprising against what people saw as unconstitutional usurping of power by Yanukoych.
Russia then acted to consolidate Crimea and stepped up support for separatists in the East of Ukraine.
Putin was appeased over Crimea.
Obama, Merkel and other leaders failed to act and so Putin was emboldened causing him to blunder into a bear trap in the 2022 invasion.
This post was edited by Prox1m1ty on Sep 18 2023 04:44pm