> On Feb 18, 2026, at 20:59, Marv Gandall via groups.io > <[email protected]> wrote:
> > The right of self-determination is not at issue, Mark. But Russia is occupying Ukrainian territory right now. They even held referenda under conditions of occupation and de-population. I know some on this list take that seriously but I can't. > Ukraine exercised the right to independent statehood back in 1991 when the > USSR dissolved, and no serious analyst of any political persuasion believes > that the Russian aim is to occupy the country and reabsorb it into its > federation. I can list a dozen writers from Ilya Budraitskis (https://spectrejournal.com/against-putins-war-in-ukraine/) to Petr Akopov (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petr_Akopov) who believe that Russia's aim was to take over the entire country. They were marching to Kiev in 2022. It may no longer be a realistic aim of Russia to occupy the country in the near term. But there's no doubt that was Putin's original intent and long-term goal. Putin wanted a multi-polar world. The irony is that he is getting it but that Russia is too weak to be one of the poles. Thanks, in part, to his invasion of Ukraine. I don't see much of a debate that Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including Crimea, was expansionist. If an army is occupying a country with the aim of incorporating it into their empire, then this is obviously a violation of national self determination. Mark -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#40734): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/40734 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/117833155/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
