> a defensive war that is somehow being fought entirely on another country’s territory

Russia figured out the magic trick to modern annexation. International law now mostly holds that you can't take land in a war, but that a country's sovereignty arises from the democratic will of the people living there. So Russia just invades under any pretense it likes, and holds "elections" where they get "the will of the people" to be whatever they tell it to be. Like joining Russia.

It's a sham, entirely, but it means they can tell their own people that they are following the law and it's everyone else that's against them.

And so now they can say "look, we did the song and dance that makes this Russian land, so we're defending 'our' people now".

>war that is somehow being fought entirely on another country’s territory

Technically not true.

They've proclaimed most of these battlefield territories their own, so that is now a technically correct statement.

It is not much of a trick of modern annexation, just a lie to feed their own population in order to legitimize jailing of people against the war.

Do I understand it correctly, that the argument is that "it's a defensive war", because Putin in effect "called dibs, so it's ours, and we are defending it"?

So, more on how it is sold to the Russian people, rather, than there being anything technically correct about it, right? Because if it's the latter, then I suppose the closes would be "internationally accepted". And, none of the currently occupied regions, including Crimea, is recognized as such.

They even proclaimed a lot of territory they don’t hold as their own, including the entire Donetsk oblast, so it’s a “defensive war” trying to grab and hold more land.

> a defensive war that is somehow being fought entirely on another country’s territory

A bit like Iraq and Afghanistan (and Vietnam, Korea, ...)