Vladimir Putin is appropriating four Ukrainian regions. The move is predictable – but no less wrong or disturbing for it
Vladimir Putin has taken another irreversible step. On Friday he will sign treaties annexing four Ukrainian regions. The strategy is no surprise given his history of occupying and claiming for Russia territory that does not belong to it. Arguably, this was set in motion as soon as it became clear – days after the February invasion – that his plans to swiftly topple the Ukrainian government had failed. It became more likely once it was evident that Russia was faring badly on both military and diplomatic fronts, and that domestic discontent was stirring. Certainly, it was clear it would happen once the sham referendums were rushed through, with up to 99.2% of voters in these regions supposedly choosing to join Russia, and accounts of officials arriving at Ukrainians’ homes and telling them to cast their ballot in front of armed Russian soldiers. But the move is no less wrong or dangerous for its predictability.
True, there was little prospect of talks, but this decision has effectively barred the way to them. The land amounts to about 15% of Ukraine and includes about 4 million people. Russia does not wholly control any of these regions; though it controls almost all of Kherson and Luhansk, it holds only parts of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia. Kyiv cannot and will not concede this territory, and Nato has said explicitly that Ukraine’s borders are unchanged, that it supports Ukraine’s right to self-defence, and that it will “remain resolute” in its political and practical support. Though Ukraine’s supporters must act with care, they must also act with determination. The annexations confirm that this will be a long war. They do not show that Mr Putin will be satisfied with stopping at these borders in the long term.
