“Drag in the completely unrelated Kosovo”
I do because it created a precedent in international law!
US supported every secessionist group that wanted to break away from Yugoslavia, they bombed Yugoslavia, and they declared the Yugoslav Army to be an occupier on its own territory.
The Assembly of Kosovo, a province of Serbia, approved an unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. Kosovo was soon recognized as a sovereign state by the United States, Turkey, Albania, Austria, Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and others ...
According to Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: “A precedent is objectively created not just for South Ossetia and Abkhazia but also for an estimated 200 territories around the world. If someone is allowed to do something, many others will expect similar treatment.”
The West can’t have it both ways. They can’t say, for example, that the right of Albanians to self-determination in Kosovo trumps Serbia’s right to territorial integrity, and then turn around and say that Ukraine’s right to territorial integrity trumps the right of Russians in Crimea to self-determination.
Excellent point.
Russia obviously has control of Crimea, and intends to keep it; or at least ensure the referendum is held for Crimea to choose indenpendence and alliance with Russia.
Ukraine still has to get organized enough to defend its mainland, and try to hold what it can.
Again, a coarse bear version of what it thinks it saw.