Is Putin's War Ethical?

In this blog post I will combine all my previous findings on Putin's annexation of Crimea along with its adherence (or lack thereof) to the Just War Theory to decide if his reasons for seizing the territory are ethical and just or not. I looked at all the required aspects for the Just War theory to see if they applied to Putin's actions in Ukraine.

First, it was concluded that Just Cause did not intact apply to Putin's reasoning for the annexation. Next, Comparative Justice was also ruled out as a likely rule in the war in Crimea as well as the rules of Right Intention, Last Resort, and Proportionality. The ones that I did find to apply to Putin's annexation were Competent Authority and Probability of Success. However, meeting the standards of 2 out of 7 factors certainly does not mean that Putin followed the Just War Theory when planning out his strategy for seizing Crimea.

Seeing as many people follow the Just War Theory as a guideline for determining the ethics of general warfare, I believe it is safe to say from the above information that the violent conflict in Crimea instigated by the Russians is far from ethical and is wildly incompatible with what most people today would consider just.

Saint Augustine disapproves.