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Comment by blululu | Hacker News Reader

Crimea is traditionally Tartar, and majority Russian. It was always an autonomous region, and it was taken quickly and without a fight in 2014. In the intervening 7 years it wasn’t contested like the Donbas (beyond Ukraine cutting off the water supply). Without exculpating Russia for its numerous war crimes and atrocities, bringing the war into Crimea is effectively opening a new theater. Yes, Crimea is officially Ukrainian territory, but it would definitely be an escalation of the conflict.

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> bringing the war into Crimea is effectively opening a new theater

Considering that Crimea seems to take a cruise missile or two every month and we know that the Ukrainians have done a cross sea raid on Crimea.

How is it a new theatre? its already one.

The day things started going boom in Crimea is the day it became a theatre in the war, and that was a long time ago.

I would expect the US to retake New Hampshire instead of just letting an occupying force keep it regardless of what the majority was. Land has tactical/resource values.

False comparison. New Hampshire is ethnically, politically and geographically American, and has been since before the revolution (that would be more like fighting for the Donbas). The Crimea would be more like if Russia took over one of America’s outlying dependencies like Puerto Rico. In fact Russia did that in 1959 with Cuba, and ultimately the US had to back down and cede it to the Soviets to avoid nuclear war.

Coming from a Ukrainian, no.

Your assumptions regarding the ethnicity and makeup of the Crimea are straight from Russian propaganda attempting to soften the perception of their actions.

I can tell you with complete confidence we do not view the Crimea as “an outlying dependency”. It was as if Canada had crossed the border into the US and taken a state.

That's why Ukraine's government has been absolutely firm about its intention to liberate Crimea, along with every other occupied territory.

> it was taken quickly and without a fight in 2014.

That is the same thing they tried to do to Kiev more recently. Take it quickly and without a fight.

If that had succeeded, would we say Ukrainians have no right to "escalate the conflict" by trying to throw Russians out of Kiev? Would Musk help Russians in that case too?

> but it would definitely be an escalation of the conflict.

How do you escalate a conflict where you're being invaded and the invader not only denies your right to exist but also is adamant in committing genocide to remove you even from history books?

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