How Russia’s attack on Ukraine violates international law
PBS NewsHourMar 05, 2022
Russia's foreign ministry on Sun. claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the port of Odesa that took place the day before. They said the high precision long range missiles were used only to target and destroy a military boat and weapons delivered to Ukraine by Washington.
Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the claim and condemned the shelling as "barbarism". He argued that the strike - which came a day after Russia pledged not to shell Odesa in order to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain - undermined the Kremlin's political position.
This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after an election a "coup". This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.
NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.
There is a 92% chance that Russia will be the world's most sanctioned country by Feb. 22, 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.