The population of Crimea joined Russia in February 2014; in April 2014, the populations of Donetsk and Lugansk declared independence; and in September 2022, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, and Lugansk joined Russia after what the West called sham referendums. What basic principles of international law are clashing? Why did the West easily approve the secession of Kosovo and ridicule Russia on the same legal issue: Camp Bondsteel?