Originally Posted by crockett

The insurgents in Syria openly call them selfs a army. They have a clear rank structure with commanders in charge. These are things required by the Geneva convention of a army in conflict. So no as far as world law in considered they are not terrorists. The insurgents in Syria fall more under milita rules as it's a civil war where people rose up against the govt. They don't have to be in uniform but they have to openly carry their weapons.

The difference is they are part of a "known" army and are identified as such, in Ukraine there is no identification of who these thugs are. They claim they are random citizens that just happened to be carrying Russian military weapons, and just happen to show up at all the right times and places but are no part of any known or claim to be part of a army. This makes them terrorist.