Does Russia represent a serious nuclear threat?
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Editor's note:
Rafael Domingo Oslé is a research professor at the Center for Law and Religion at Emory University and a professor of Law at the University of Navarra.
The opinions expressed in this article correspond exclusively to its author.
You can find more opinion pieces at CNNe.com/opinion.
(CNN Spanish) --
The bloody invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops has undermined the international order born from the ashes of the battlefields of World War II.
Our fragile international system is defenseless against the ego of a Russia – a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council – unrestrained in seeking armed control of its neighbor Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin clings to a mythical thought, which is not rational, where physical violence plays a relevant role and little or no interest in evidence of veracity.
So he showed it in his speech to his people to legitimize the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin did not accept the diversity and enrichment of other points of view and was unable to think globally about the events.
He focused exclusively on his nationalist concerns and turned to his own reductive view of history, not reason, to justify the unjustifiable.
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The question that arises is the following: how should the international community behave before a head of state with a mythical mind who, in his imperialist pursuits, grotesquely violates the most basic principles of the world order by invading a sovereign country?
As international law is not enough to answer this question, I am going to give a series of guidelines that may be useful to properly manage this international conflict:
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The end does not justify the means
.
Not all international action is legitimized by the fact that it seeks the good of peace.
This principle must be applied to the letter in any confrontation, especially if it is armed.
For example, imprisoning, assaulting, torturing or exercising any kind of physical violence on Russian citizens living in foreign countries to put pressure on Putin would be unjustifiable.
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The invasion of Ukraine is an affront to humanity, not only to Ukraine
.
Bombing Ukraine is bombing our planet Earth and killing Ukrainians is fratricide.
Now, the fact that humanity and the planet on which we live are an indivisible whole, does not prevent each country, in our case Ukraine, from having a preferential right, which is not absolute, over its territory.
The territory of Ukraine belongs more to the Ukrainians, since they are the ones who have the responsibility to take care of it according to international law, but it is not exclusively the Ukrainians' because the Earth belongs to humanity as an indivisible asset.
Hence, the Ukrainians can receive international support for their defense and the international community feels obliged to do so.
What is a humanitarian corridor?
This is what the agreement between Russia and Ukraine after talks in Belarus refers to
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The Russian people have a duty to put all means to stop the attack on Ukraine
.
The members of the Russian troops are not relieved of their moral responsibility by the mere fact of carrying out orders.
Shooting a Ukrainian is murder, even if he does it wearing a military uniform.
The courageous behavior of some Russian military officers, who have warned Putin of his mistake, deserves all respect and international support.
Also that of so many Russian citizens who consider the invasion unfair and thus publicly express it.
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Any measure by the international community that threatens to provoke an escalation of violence must be avoided
, even if it is legitimized by international law.
The remedy should never be worse than the disease.
It would make no sense for the United States or NATO, for example, to invade Russia in retaliation, since a third world war is absolutely unacceptable.
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Siding with the victim
.
All the countries that make up the international community have the obligation to support and favor the unjustly attacked, that is, Ukraine, and to continue using diplomacy as a means to achieve peace.
The attitude of those countries that have not condemned the invasion is unacceptable.
While the conflict lasts, all human beings should show solidarity in one way or another with the Ukrainians, through help, consolation, hospitality, prayer, fasting, donations or messages on social networks.
The camera of this car recorded a fearsome explosion in Ukraine 0:40
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The international community has the right to practice all kinds of blockades
(financial, air, sea, commercial) and impose any political and economic sanctions against Russia, as is actually being done, in any corner of the planet.
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However, only in the invaded area is it acceptable to repel violence with violence
.
Not in the rest of the planet as long as a specific territory is not physically attacked.
The international community, especially NATO, can provide weapons to the Ukrainians to continue their defense against the Russian Army.
You can also send military support to the Ukrainian people to defend themselves from the invasion, but you must very carefully delimit the area of armed conflict.
In short, the international community, as with a cancer, must apply the scalpel to eradicate the conflict as soon as possible, but prevent it from spreading as a metastasis at all costs.
The use of diplomacy, sanctions and even the sending of weapons and troops to the invaded area are admissible.
But the use of physical violence is justified only on Ukrainian territory, and at the hands of that people and those who support them.
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