In Ukraine’s ongoing negotiations with Russia over its invasion, Vladimir Putin seems to be aiming at the very least to retain Crimea for Russia and ensure recognition for the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics. These breakaway states claim much more territory than they control as of now, and to recognise them would be a decisive change in Ukraine’s borders.
One of the many striking aspects of the invasion has been how much histories of border-drawing seem to matter. Days before invading, the Russian president claimed that “modern Ukraine was entirely created by … communist Russia”. In doing this, he said, Lenin transferred “to the newly, often arbitrarily formed administrative units – the union republics – vast territories that had nothing to do with them”.
