What I wrote about the right of each of the USSR republics to voluntarily secede from the USSR is freely available and you can easily check it.
Russia has always been a prison of nations, no matter what signs about voluntary unions it hides behind.

So, on November 20, 1917, the Central Rada of Ukraine adopted the Third Universal, which proclaimed the creation of the Ukrainian People's Republic. It ceased to exist in 1920 as a result of the invasion of the Red Army, which eliminated its independence.
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed in 1919 as a result of the armed aggression of Bolshevik Russia and was subject to Russian influence until the complete Sovietization of Ukraine.

Therefore, in practice, secession from the USSR was impossible under the strong central government of the Kremlin. It was only in 1991, when this central power in Moscow was weakened by internal events, that Ukraine, like other former Soviet republics, took advantage of this opportunity.

The Russian Federation will also become very weak as a result of the current war with Ukraine, and other nations and nationalities that are still held by force within the Russian Federation will certainly take advantage of this.

You see, current states have territories and borders that are enshrined in relevant treaties with neighboring states, and are also recognized by all other states of the world by concluding diplomatic, consular and other agreements with them. All of them provide for the sovereignty and inviolability of existing borders, regardless of how these borders have changed over previous centuries. This is necessary in order to stop the endless wars for new territories that have almost always accompanied humanity. According to the UN Charter and other international agreements and world practice, unauthorized changes to existing borders are categorically prohibited and are recognized as territorial aggression with the imposition on such a state of the obligation to restore the previous territorial position and compensate the state that has become a victim of aggression for losses caused to it. This distinguishes the current civilization from previous ones, where there was lawlessness and the rule of the might.

As for Ukraine and the Russian Federation, such an agreement on the Russian-Ukrainian border, which determined the line of the land border between the countries, was concluded on January 28, 2003 and exists to this day. On the Russian side it was signed by President Vladimir Putin, on the Ukrainian side by President Leonid Kuchma.
https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%80_%D0%BE_%D1%80 %D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE-
%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%B3%D1%80%D0 %B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B5

Therefore, an attempt to arbitrarily change the generally recognized borders of Ukraine and Putin’s violation of the previously signed agreement on the land borders of Ukraine is considered aggression and a gross violation of international law with all the ensuing consequences that Russia is already beginning to experience.

 That is why Ukraine does not claim the return of territories by Russia, including Moscow itself within the borders of the state of Kievan Rus that once existed on the territory of Ukraine, and even the border Belgorod, Kursk, and Rostov regions that Ukraine had before the 1917 revolution. The above also applies to all states, including the United States with its internationally recognized borders.

Has the territory of the Crimean peninsula always been inhabited by ethnic Russians? Not true. Let's take a look at who previously lived in Crimea and within which states.

So, from the middle of the 13th century, the steppe Crimea was part of the Golden Horde; after the decline of Byzantium, the southern coast of Crimea was occupied by Genoese colonies. After the collapse of the Golden Horde in the middle of the 15th century, the Crimean Khanate was formed in Crimea. After the Turkish conquest in 1475, the coastal cities and the mountainous part of Crimea became part of the Ottoman Empire. The rest of the peninsula was owned by the Crimean Khanate, which, in turn, became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. According to the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty of 1774, signed as a result of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, both Turkey and Russia pledged not to interfere in the affairs of the Crimean Khanate. In 1783, the Crimean peninsula was conquered and annexed to the Russian Empire, the Tauride region was formed here, and later the Tauride province.

 As you can see, it was only at the end of the 18th century that Crimea was conquered by the Russian Empire. And the indigenous people in Crimea are the Crimean Tatars, whom Stalin forcibly deported in May 1944 to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and other regions of the USSR. In total, 238,500 people were deported from Crimea at that time, of which 205.9 thousand, that is, 86.4%, were women and children. In independent Ukraine, the Crimean Tatars were officially recognized as the indigenous people of Crimea and the descendants of the deportees were allowed to return to Crimea.

Apparently, the figures given in Wikipedia about the number of Russian Ground Forces are very outdated.

According to Russian sources, the Russian army in 2022 had the following number of military personnel:
- ground forces numbered about 800,000 people;
— approximately 100 thousand served in the aerospace forces;
- the fleet included about 150 thousand, that is, these three types of troops alone amounted to about 1,050,000 people.
In addition, the Russian Armed Forces also include the Strategic Missile Forces, Airborne Forces, and Special Operations Forces, which may also well take part in the war against Ukraine. The Russian National Guard and various PMCs are also fighting on the Ukrainian fronts. I have not yet found in open sources what the current number of ground forces in the Russian Federation is.

On September 25, 2022, a decree was signed to increase the number of military personnel to 2,039,758 “due to the tense geopolitical situation.”
https://pamyatpokoleniy.ru/news/tpost/4toaxkmhs1-chislennost-armii-rossii-na-2022

The commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Lieutenant General Pavlyuk, stated that as of May 3, about 510-515 thousand Russian military personnel were stationed in Ukraine.

Putin said in December 2023 that there were 617,000 Russian military personnel in the “combat zone”—probably referring to all Russian military personnel deployed in the so-called zone. “special military operation” in the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, including the areas where Russian troops are based in border areas on Russian territory.
https://nv.ua/ukraine/events/skolko-rossiyskih-voysk-v-ukraine-i-na-granice-rf-i-o-chem-svidetelstvuyut-eti-dannye-novosti-ukrainy-50424861.html

I have to constantly prove that what you write, to put it mildly, is not true.

The right of free secession of each republic from the USSR was enshrined in Article 72 of the 1977 USSR Constitution, which was in force during the period of Ukraine’s secession from the USSR in 1991. This article had only one sentence, namely: “Each union republic retains the right to freely secede from the USSR.”

The specific procedure for the republic’s secession from the USSR was regulated by a separate USSR law dated April 3, 1990 No. 1409-I “On the procedure for resolving issues related to the secession of a union republic from the USSR.” Article 6 of this law states that “the decision to secede of a union republic from the USSR is considered adopted through a referendum if at least two-thirds of the citizens of the USSR who were permanently residing on the territory of the republic at the time the question of its secession from the USSR was raised…”
https://ru.m.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0_ %D0%BE%D1%82_04/03/1990_%E2%84%96_1409-I

You are also mistaken that I did not live under the USSR. I even served in military service on the territory of the current Russian Federation and was demobilized a little earlier than you were supposed to be drafted. Therefore, I lived in the USSR for about 30 years and know its “internal structure” well, because I am a lawyer by training and I received this education while still in the USSR.

In fact, I already wrote earlier that Ukraine as a state existed much earlier than Russia. True, both Ukraine and Russia had different names at different times.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5470489.msg63899296#msg63899296

Here I would like to draw your attention to the fact that until 1991, when the Ukrainian Republic was proclaimed as an independent sovereign state, Ukraine was not part of Russia. Let me remind you that in December 1922 the USSR was created on the basis of the entry into it of a number of equal republics, including the Ukrainian SSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). This was a voluntary unification of equal republics with the right to voluntarily secede from the USSR. In 1991, Ukraine took advantage of this right. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that Ukraine during the USSR period was part of Russia.

I believed that you deliberately distorted the reality about the events taking place in Ukraine, including the oppression of the Russian-speaking population and the shelling of the territory of the so-called DPR and DPR. But it seems that you were only honestly mistaken about this.

As for the incidents you mentioned with Ukrainians shouting about Muscovites, you yourself write that this happened starting in 2014. That is, after the invasion of Russian troops into the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which occurred in February 2014. And accordingly, the Ukrainians had the right to call for the killing of the occupiers.

I also agree with you that there are certain forces that want the mutual weakening of Ukraine and Russia. Therefore, Ukraine is given few weapons and always very late so that Ukraine does not lose the war, but also does not win it. Some people have long been laying claim to Ukrainian black soil, but this is not the United States.

The Russians need to be shown that this is not a “special military operation” somewhere far from their home, in another country, as the government is trying to convince them. They need to show that this is a cruel and bloody war that they themselves imposed on Ukraine, and the war involves mutual losses and retaliatory actions of the country that was subjected to aggression.

Do you think that attacks on Russian territory will cause a wave of patriotism among the Russian population and they will rush to the military registration and enlistment offices to go to war in Ukraine as volunteers? We do not see such patriotism in Belgorod and other border regions of Russia, which have already experienced some of the inevitable consequences of this war. On the contrary, they actively began to curse Putin because peaceful life in this region had ended and many of them were forced to evacuate to safe places.

Now the Russian army has been trying to seize plaidarms in the area of Volchansk and Lipetsk in the border areas of the Kharkov region for almost a month. All that she has achieved so far is the lifting of the ban on the use of their weapons throughout Russia by 15 states that supply weapons to Ukraine. Therefore, Russia will soon go up in flames not only from Ukrainian drones, which, although they cause significant damage to military and logistics facilities, cannot carry as much explosives as high-precision missiles will do. The war is entering its next deadly stage, and the Russians clearly will not like it.

I watched the video you linked to. I can say that the place of this action is not the Independence Square in Kyiv and this most likely did not happen in Kyiv. Judging by the sign on the building with a blue background, this is some kind of administrative building in Ukraine, but I could not determine when it was, in what year and about what the rally took place. If this was after Russia attacked Ukraine, then this behavior of Ukrainians is quite logical. Do you want Russians to be loved because they attack Ukraine, killing people and destroying everything in their path?

During the Second World War, the slogan “Death to the German occupiers” was also widespread in the USSR. For Ukrainians today there is a similar situation, in which today the occupier is a Russian soldier who needs to be killed on Ukrainian soil. And Ukrainians are doing this very actively. In May alone, the irretrievable losses of Russians in Ukraine amounted to over 38 thousand people. This is a quantitative record for the entire war with the Russians.

The Russian army has been continuously storming the Kharkov region from Volchansk since May 10. The invaders entered the border Volchansk in the first days, having previously destroyed the minefields with the help of artillery and corrective bombs. They entered, but never progressed further. But their losses increased sharply. In May, the irretrievable losses of Russians in Ukraine amount to about 38,000 soldiers (511,130 in total), 416 tanks, 868 armored vehicles, 9 aircraft, 1,116 artillery systems and other weapons. The Russians had armored vehicles left for at most another year of war, and even then, mostly equipment from the Second World War remained. In Russia, approximately 30 thousand people a month are drafted into war, and approximately the same amount is disposed of in Ukraine. Well, let's see how many more of them will agree to die for the imperial ambitions of the distraught old man Putin.

In connection with the emergence of a new front in the Kharkov region, an unequal situation arose when the Russians could attack from their territory, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine had a ban on the use of Western weapons on Russian territory. Therefore, 15 countries have already lifted this restriction. The Russians will soon fully see what war is when many times more flames blaze on their territory. This will surely make them change their attitude towards her.

And don’t worry about the Ukrainian army. There is a bullet for each occupier, as well as for the one who will fire it. If you think this attack on Ukraine is worth it, welcome to hell.

Where can I see the table of participants?

Russian propagandists are now trying very hard to justify their stupid attack on Ukraine. How else can one justify this if not to paint the image of an enemy in the Ukrainians, who, supposedly, for some reason, were inflamed with hatred of the Russians. This is supposedly why they need to be killed.

During the events on Independence Square in Kyiv in November-December 2013, Russians and the Russian language were not even remembered. There was a completely different focus there. There the people defended their European choice. But Russian propagandists deliberately distort these events, which in Ukraine are called the Revolution of Dignity. But after them, the Kremlin realized that Ukraine was moving away from Russian influence and moving towards Europe. Therefore, military aggression began immediately.

And all these letters, statements allegedly from Odessa residents and other residents of Ukraine about how they are waiting for the Russians to come under their own missiles and bombs, which are now destroying their homes, can be invented and hundreds have been invented. I don’t think that Odessa residents want to have the same “Russian world” as they have in the DPR and LPR, where everything is already in complete ruins, and there is practically no male population left.

Ukraine, with its drones, is now actively destroying Russia’s nuclear shield, which are long-range target detection radar stations.

Thus, on May 24, the Voronezh-DM radar station was hit near the city of Armavir in the Kuban, which is located 1,800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

On May 27, Ukrainian power steering drones hit the Voronezh-M long-range target detection radar station, which is located near Orsk, Orenburg region of Russia.

On the night of May 27-28, in occupied Lugansk, the Nebo-M radar, which was located on the territory of the flight school airfield, was hit.

On the night of May 29-30, SBU drones destroyed the Sky-SVU radar, worth about $100 million, which was installed near Armyansk in the occupied Crimea.

Thus, Ukraine shows its capabilities and indicates likely preparation for future operations. Their destruction may also mean further radical actions by Ukraine’s partners in the event of Russia’s use of nuclear weapons. This may well be clearing a corridor for American Tomahawk cruise missiles, which can be launched from the Mediterranean Sea or the Indian Ocean.

With such strikes, Ukraine, perhaps even at the instigation of Western advisers, shows the people around Putin, and those involved in the strategic defense of Russia, that they do not have any “strategic shield.” That all their nuclear targets are vulnerable. There are only 12 federal nuclear weapons storage facilities in Russia, the data of which is known to everyone. If you hit them at the same time, then Russia will not have even 5% of its nuclear potential left.
One Voronezh radar covers approximately 6,000 kilometers around itself. There are ten of these in Russia, several of which have already been hit by Ukrainian drones. If other radars are destroyed, Russia simply will not see what will happen around it.

Under such circumstances, Russia may well lose a nuclear war.

You reasonably noted that any supply or sale of weapons must comply with international legal standards, and therefore let’s see whether the sale of shells, missiles, drones and other weapons to Russia by Iran and North Korea complies. First, let's look at what applies to the supply of weapons.
According to Article 2 of the International Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers of 2000 (https://www.un.org/ru/documents/decl_conv/conventions/code_arms.shtml), arms transfers include “any transaction resulting in a change in legal title and/or control in relation to any weapons..., and to any physical movement of any weapons... from one territory to another Such supplies include supplies made in exchange for direct payment, credit, foreign assistance, subsidies. and goods obtained as a result of mutual settlements and barter agreements."
That is, regardless of whether weapons are purchased or supplied to another state as assistance, this is equally regarded as the supply of weapons from one country to another.

Now comes the interesting part: According to Title II, which governs the principles of arms transfers, “arms transfers may only be made if the proposed recipient State or the recipient party in the final destination country complies with all of the following principles, namely:

- if it can be reasonably demonstrated that the proposed supply will not be used by the recipient State or the recipient party in the country of final destination to promote serious violations of human rights, such as genocide and other crimes against humanity, such as “ethnic cleansing” (Article 3 ),

- if the proposed recipient State or recipient party in the country of final destination: does not commit serious violations of the laws and customs of war as set out in the 1949 Geneva Conventions... (Article 4),

- if the proposed recipient State or recipient party in the final destination country complies with international agreements relating to arms embargoes and other military sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council... (Article 6),

- if the proposed recipient State or the recipient party in the final destination country is not involved in any armed conflict in the region, unless the United Nations recognizes that it is acting in self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations (Article 8 ).

All these principles are violated by the Russian Federation as a recipient state of weapons, as well as Iran and North Korea as those supplying them to the Russian Federation.

Of course, it will be much better if the world order is established by several states or even blocs of states, rather than by one superstate. In this case, there will be less risk that the head of such a superstate may make the wrong decision, which could affect the fate of the world as a whole.

In Ukraine, Ukrainians generally defend their country using a certain part of Western weapons. But this does not mean at all that Russia is now at war with NATO. If we proceed from this position, then we can also say that Ukraine is at war with both Iran and North Korea, because Russia has been using the weapons of these countries on Ukrainian territory for a long time.

Russia's war against Ukraine has indeed led to a regrouping and aggravation of the situation between various blocs of states. First of all, these are countries that supply weapons to Russia - Iran, North Korea and partly China, and on the other hand - more than 50 countries that support the defense of Ukraine from Russian aggression. The outcome of this war will determine what the format of global security in the world will be in the future.

However, we can say with confidence that Russia will come out of this war weakened, and many nations and nationalities that are now being held within Russia by force will certainly take advantage of this, and we will soon, with a high degree of probability, be able to observe how Russia will disintegrate into many separate republics.

Yes, indeed, the damage to the ecology of Ukraine due to the contamination of fertile soils due to the explosion of tens of thousands of shells and mines every day throughout the entire period of this war is very significant. The explosion of one 115-mm high-explosive fragmentation ammunition filled with hexogen produces about 4000 liters of gas containing the combustion products of this explosive. Most of them, including heavy metals (lead, copper, arsenic, zinc, etc.), settle on the soil. I think this will be taken into account when determining the amount of reparations that Russia will have to pay to Ukraine after the end of this war of aggression.

We can only hope that nature will be able to take care of cleaning up these contaminated areas, although this will take several decades.

The war that Russia imposed on Ukraine will certainly have a very bad impact on the integrity of its economy and civil infrastructure. The population will drop greatly not only because of those killed in this war, but also because of the large number of people who migrated to other countries, some of whom will remain there forever. Many cities and other settlements were destroyed to the ground.
But among this sheer negativity there are also some positive aspects. Strong support from other countries is expected for the restoration of Ukraine, and high-rise buildings will be built taking into account new technologies and their placement will be different, taking into account changing needs. Ukraine will move from large energy generation facilities to a network of smaller ones; they will already have a much lower percentage of the use of coal and gas as energy sources. Support for the introduction of alternative energy sources, including by citizens in their private homes, will be much more powerful.
The current Russian aggression has revealed many vulnerabilities against missile and bomb attacks, and this will be taken into account in further planning for industrial development. Some of the production, especially for military purposes, will be underground.

I won’t predict what will happen to Russia. I hope it will become the same as today's North Korea for the next few generations.

Where did you get the idea that the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine was subjected to systematic contempt and oppression by the Kyiv regime? Give examples, sources, we will discuss.   In the meantime, on your part there are only slogans on this matter.
Regarding the Russian patriots who criticized Putin, I know that for such criticism Girkin was put in prison and already sentenced to imprisonment, and the second shot himself right at the front because he was subjected to threats and oppression.

Because of what words in my post did you come to the conclusion that I condone piracy? In my opinion, I clearly wrote here that this is a big problem for civil shipping and, in particular, that the Yemeni Houthis are now creating such a problem in the Red Sea. Maybe my text was distorted by an incorrect translation?
In the last paragraph of my post, commenting on the idea expressed that it is impossible to fight evil with the same methods, I objected and gave an example of Russia’s military actions towards Ukraine, when there is simply no other choice but to kill the Russian occupiers who invaded the territory of Ukraine. C what do you disagree with?