I’ve been wondering this for a while, why is Russia not imperialist for trying to annex Ukraine?
I keep seeing support for Russia in this war, but I also don’t know much about the situation aside from the fact that the US seems to be using it as a testing ground for new weapons.
Russia wants the 4 oblasts, not all of Ukraine, and further it isn’t engaging in war with Ukraine to gain colonial territory but to gain a defensive buffer zone against a power that has repeatedly shown it is willing to play attack dog for NATO. Not all annexation of territory is imperialist, we have to analyze the underlying causes.
I’m not an expert and I don’t have the right answers hardly ever, but from what I’ve read in the past on Hexbear, it’s twofold:
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Ukraine is viewed as a fascist/Nazi state due to Bandera, the Maidan coup, and the numerous swastikas.
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any action taken against a fascist imperialist power (Ukraine, by extension NATO, by extension the United States) is critically supported, even if the state taking the action is itself problematic
People other than me might be able to clarify better or tell me I’ve interpreted the situation incorrectly
Expanding on 1: The Kiev state has taken to suppressing the Russian language, despite ethnic Russians living in Eastern Ukraine making up a sizable portion of Eastern Ukraine. This led to Donetsk and Luhansk seceding.
Expanding on 2: It isn’t that any action taken against western powers is critically supported. Russia does a huge amount of trade with China, the DPRK, etc and has a rising socialist sympathy among the populace. Russia isn’t simply trying to gain new colonial territory, but provide a buffer zone against further NATO buildup.
Russia is a reactionary capitalist state, but it’s also one that has a population increasingly in favor of returning to socialism, and one that is on great terms with socialist countries, so it earns critical support. Russia is currently helping the global transition to socialism by taking a firm stance against NATO and by being a valuable ally to socialist countries, for the time being.
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