Vladimir Putin's regime is today in the process of trying to annex four regions of Ukraine: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Like the previous conquest and annexation of Crimea in 2014, this move is both illegal and deeply unjust. Russia's use of "referendums" to legitimate its land grap cannot change that. Many of the reasons why are blatantly obvious. But they do have some not entirely obvious broader implications.
