Russia’s Case for War against Ukraine: Legal Claims, Political Rhetoric, and Instrumentality in a Fracturing International Order

In seeking to justify its war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia has presented a wide variety of legal, quasi-legal, and normative claims, alongside political rhetoric and transparent revanchism. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis of Russian speeches and texts concerning the war, this article deconstructs Russia’s legal and political arguments and analyzes their rhetorical character as well as their intended audiences. It also assesses the instrumentality of Putin’s irredentist claims on “historic Russian regions” in Ukraine. The article concludes that this abuse of legal and normative discourse to justify not only a full-scale invasion but also territorial annexation is a central threat to core global rules and norms.