(Copied from another thread.)
Are you aware that Crimea was part of Russia for over 200 years, until Nikita Khrushchev literally gifted it to Ukraine in 1954 in order to gain the support of their party bosses during his accession after the death of Stalin?
Before Russia, it belonged to the Ottoman Empire, now defunct. Before that, it belonged to the city-state of Venice, going back to before Columbus discovered America. But it was NEVER part of Ukraine, until Khrushchev’s “gift.”
Imagine if President Eisenhower, as a dictator on his own, gave Long Island and NYC to Connecticut as part of a in internal United States political deal to secure CT’s support.
In 1954, the political gift was an internal USSR matter, not an international matter. In 1991, the USSR broke apart, and Khrushchev’s gift suddenly mattered. But despite the gift and the fluke that led Crimea to become part of the modern sovereign nation of Ukraine, Crimea has always been 90% ethnic Russian, and it contains Russia’s most vital naval bases and sea ports.
In fact, Crimea is far more Russian than Hawaii is American. It’s foolish and naïve to believe that the Russian’s will risk losing the Crimea during a period of chaos in Ukraine.