This is such a transparently self-serving joke of an excuse.

A serial killer could likewise say "Sure, I kill people, but as a result of my murders the police develop new forensic techniques."

Right.. as if that justifies anything. These people are just interested in money, no matter who it hurts. They are sociopaths.

I guess if you're ok with taking something that isn't yours you would see no problem with this. The rest of us see this as sociopathy.

That some countries legalize theft of property in other countries does not change the ethics of this at all.

> That some countries legalize theft of property in other countries does not change the ethics of this at all.

It literally does. Because those people are participating in a society where their actions are not strictly unethical. Their society does not necessarily view them as sociopaths.

Well I should concede it depends on whether your worldview accommodates different ethical frameworks or not. If you are absolutely ethical then all people must adhere to the same ethical standard and you can rightly justify punishment of outsiders.

We're not arguing about whether that's ethical, we're simply pointing out that people like that exist.

You and the parent commenter are no longer arguing about what is and isn't ethical (as you've stated, you both seem to agree), but instead on what to do about the practical reality that society in Russia does see this as ethical, and doesn't give a flying fuck what you or I think.

Now the question becomes, what should we do about that.

They outright admit that they see the targets primarily as money bags, and that they are making the economy better in exactly the same way that breaking windows makes the economy better, and your opinion is that it's ethically blurry?