Should we be looking at the initial cause of the conflict, though?
Putin's need for political capital and economic income as the corruption that's characterised his leadership and kept him in power starts to have sufficient impact that the populace are no longer as compliant as he needs them to be... you can look at it, I don't see how it helps.
I understand that Russia perhaps wrongly stepped in in 2014 in support of the separatists
Perhaps wrongly?
...but is there not a case for a genuine referendum on independence?
There's a case - is it a strong one? Well, did parties representing that point of view gather sufficient representation in the Ukrainian parliament to give a mandate for it? It would seem not.
It doesn't seem that different from Scotland saying they want closer ties with the EU and to break away from UK.
Actually it's more akin to the Cornish independence movement - Scotland has its own partial legislature, and has established a political mandate to look at independence once, and there is a strong movement attempting to do so again. In Cornwall there are a few bolshy locals shouting into the darkness, there is no evidence of a popular movement, no political mandate and no evidence that there's any significant will in the region even for the discussion.
Then the people could decide, and Russia and Ukraine would have to agree to respect the result.
Why waste the time and the money when there's no basis except for Putin's propoganda to think that this was ever really an issue?
O.
