Sir - GB Dipper may be right (Letters 13 March) that the West's recent selective interventions abroad don't make criticism of Russia over Crimea run smooth. But this is a "tu quoque" fallacy (which anyway is stretched - we did not declare Iraq or Afghanistan part of our territory!) and does not excuse the Russian invasion.
Although just over half the population of Crimea are ethnic Russians, this does not mean the majority want to be part of Russia; it does not mean that Crimea isn't part of the sovereign state of Ukraine, albeit autonomous; and the planned referendum (probably complete by the time this is printed) under massive Russian pressure with little hope of accuracy, does not mean that the internationally accepted earlier referendum (as recent as 1991) is invalid.
That Russia should mount such a retrograde invasion on the doorstep of Europe, under the preposterous (and indeed hypocritical) false pretences of fighting far-right extremism, should be a huge concern to everyone. It shows Putin's power-hungry bullying and lying really know no bounds. We should not be making excuses for him, we should be making it utterly clear that World War-era intimidation is beyond the pale in the 21st century.
Bob Churchill
Bishampton
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