...I am no expert in these matters, but..didn’t Russia take over Crimea some years back, and aren’t those two areas within the Donbass very heavily populated with Russian-speaking and Russian-oriented populations...? again, I am not taking the side of Russia, but, yes, reverting to the status quo ante bellum seems to be one way to end this horror....
Well, status quo ante bellum would leave Crimea in Russian hands and the “breakway” areas under rebel control, and their offical status would remain dispute.
Yes, parts of the Ukraine are heavily Russian.
What many don’t understand, is that some of them consider themselves Ukranian, not Russian, while others have the opposite view.
I say separate the goats and the sheep, based on desires. This is very similar to Bosnia Herzegovina, and Yugoslavia’s overall breakup. It wasn’t just a matter of ethnicity; it was also based on religious and cultural preference. The Ukraine fighting to get the Eastern Donbass and Crimea back will be a never-ending effort, as the majority of those places’ populations don’t want to be a part.
But again, there are surprisingly many ethnic Russians in the Ukraine who want to remain in the nation called Ukraine.
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, there were simmering resentments along some fringe areas between these nations. Use this time to sort some of it out.