Territorial Integrity of Ukraine in the View of International Law

The purpose of this paper, among others, is precisely to understand the causes of this conflict of the use of force by Russian forces in the territory of Ukraine and to understand what can be done and what should be the response that the international community, and in this case the UN represents, must give this new challenge that history is facing. Today, Europe is experiencing the most serious geopolitical crisis that the Balkans has experienced since the collapse of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Just a little over a year and a half ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted a request to the Council of the Russian Federation asking for permission to use armed force due to the emergency situation in Ukraine and the ongoing threat to citizens and thus the Forces Russian armed forces were deployed in its territory, in particular in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and then in the entire territory of Ukraine. For us Europeans, who watch this crisis with special attention, not only because of the geographical proximity but also because of the unpredictability of its results, it is still very difficult to fully understand what is happening in Ukraine today. That is why I think it is necessary to review several stages together, which will show us how this crisis at the eastern doors of our house, if it was not preventable, was at least predictable. The principles of "sovereignty" and "self-determination" are two of the basic norms of international law, but sometimes they contradict themselves and the main debate presented in this topic is which principle limits the other, so we have tried to answer we find in the assessment of each case. State sovereignty is no longer an absolute concept as it is directly related to the respect of human rights. Self-determination continues to be a radical concept of this time, and its application depends on a case-by-case basis, taking into account various historical and current factors.   Received: 05 May 2022 / Accepted: 17 May 2023 / Published: 20 May 2023