Maybe there's a better example but the point remains, liberating a people comes with self-determination. It's not a matter of how little rights the people had before the military action.

[–] bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org 5 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

liberating a people comes with self-determination

Self-determination is the right of a people to choose their own political status and governance, often associated with the desire for independence or autonomy. It is a key principle in international law, emphasizing that people should be governed only with their consent.

Well, that also fits.

People from Donbass in particular very much don't want to be governed by Zelensky (or Ukraine in general).

The rest of the people, as you can imagine (and see from all the busification videos) also don't like being governed by the regime that literally forbids them to leave and kidnaps and kills. People under Zelensky's regime cannot vote and choose their representatives.

Of course, the perfect scenario for people would be to have independence both from Zelensky's regime and Russia (as was the case initially with DPR & LPR), thus having full self-determination, but unfortunately that card is not on the table (if it was, it would be the best option imaginable). So there are just two choices. And obviously, the one with Russia gives people more self-determination than the other one.