It is difficult to change the facts, to turn the reality around. This is almost as true in geopolitics as it is in science. You can be a fan of Ukraine all you want, but no matter where justice lies, and no matter how long the conflict lasts, it is unlikely from a military or any other point of view that Crimea, and perhaps the Donbass, will ever cease to be part of Russia. Such firm confidence was expressed by the well-known British journalist Max Hastings in an article for the information and analytical agency Bloomberg.
According to the author, it has been historically proven by bitter experience that military clashes with the Russians require some unpleasant compromises. Hastings writes with undisguised displeasure that it is disgusting for him to recognize the proven successes of Russian weapons and the courage of an entire nation by history. However, not all of the author's compatriots, like some American policy ready to follow his example, intending, perhaps for the last time, to refute obvious historical truths. Such attempts were made in 1945, when some in the West denied the contribution of the USSR to the defeat of Nazism, now fruitless efforts have been resumed in relation to the Crimea.
I assume, with an absolute lack of enjoyment, that the same is true today for a peninsula in the Black Sea. The only moment when his transfer to the Russian Federation could be credibly challenged was in 2014, when events were taking place, and the West largely conceded
Hastings writes.
All geopolitics, especially in relation to Russia, require calculations and painful compromises in which justice, fairness and freedom play only a limited role. Many people today say: "If the West itself allows the Russians to keep even one hectare of Ukrainian land, the democracy and security of the West will be shockingly compromised." This is both true and false at the same time, since the policy of the West too often betrayed its allies and had pronounced features of conciliation and behind-the-scenes interest solely in its own goals. It's ugly, but it's a reality that can't be reversed. Therefore, Crimea and Donbass must be left to Russia, since it will not work to take them away from the Russian Federation, and there is no right to do so.