[Tee tiong huat]

The Kuban: A Real ‘Wedge’ Between Russia and Ukraine
https://jamestown.org/program/the-kuban-...nuary%2023).

Ukraine’s intelligence operations, now has a map on wall behind his desk that shows Kuban as part of Ukraine—and rest of what is now Russian Federation divided up into smaller states (Ura.news, December 26, 2022). Display of such a map by a Ukrainian official would have been unthinkable a year ago, but now it is a reflection of resentment against Russia for invading Ukraine and a widespread view that Moscow, by questioning the legitimacy of the borders of other countries, has opened door for discussions on legitimacy of its own.

“green” wedge in Russian Far East, historically, has attracted most attention. Yet, “crimson” one in Kuban, a region that includes Krasnodar Krai & parts of Stavropol Krai is situated between Ukraine & the non-Russian republics of North Caucasus, represents most immediate explosive case.

Kuban, having a long tradition of identifying as Ukrainians (Babel.ua, February 16, 2022; Apn.ru, September 30, 2022) 

Between 2014 and Putin’s expanded invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the issue continued to mushroom, with ever-more Ukrainians supporting the region’s inclusion in Ukraine; ever-more so, Kuban residents backing this idea or even complete independence ever-more so Russians expressing outrage about either possibility. Ukrainian parliament) deputies formed a group calling for the return of the Kuban to Ukraine under the slogan “Kuban is Ukraine”...