Vladimir Putin has revived a controversial narrative, claiming that theoretically “all of Ukraine is ours.” He also sparked more immediate concerns with comments about seizing Ukraine’s city of Sumy.
Vladimir Putin has declared that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people” and that, in that sense, “all of Ukraine is ours.”
The assertion underscores Moscow’s continued underlying rejection of Ukrainian sovereignty and raises renewed alarm over Russia’s territorial ambitions.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin issued a series of provocative remarks, notably stating: “We have a saying… where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours.”
If they are one people, then all of Russia is also Ukraine. And I happen to think Zelenskyy is a more legitimate leader.
I wonder if there’s a localized zone where there is some sort of really great density of people who consider themselves Ukrainians. And I wonder if there exists some distinguishable boundary between them - culturally, societally, dare I say politically - where on one side an individual would expect to encounter a Ukrainian, versus on the other side, where they would more probably expect to encounter a non-Ukrainian?
Edit: Maybe an edge? A ridge? Something that describes a clearly defined boundary between two distinct areas that are closely related in many regards while also being clearly distinguishable based on the split that defines the division between said areas…
Edit again: I swear it’s on the tip of my tongue. So frustrating. A line, maybe? That seems closer, but not quite there.