Putin’s Dangerous Delusions: Russia Claims All Ukraine as Its Own

Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his dangerous narrative that "all of Ukraine is ours", arguing that Russians and Ukrainians are essentially the same people. This claim, delivered at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, is more than rhetoric — it forms the ideological justification Moscow uses to violate Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. Putin’s assertion ignores the sovereign will of the Ukrainian people who reject Kremlin domination. By insisting on this false notion of a shared identity, Putin seeks to legitimize Moscow’s expansionist war agenda under the guise of protecting a so-called "shared people." His declaration that "wherever a Russian...