[pierrem15]

As far as the territory Ukraine held before the current war, Putin's alchemy has transmuted millions of Russian speakers into ardent Ukrainians.

Regarding Crimea, who actually knows since there certainly have not been anything like free and fair elections since Russia's takeover. As far as booting the Russian population out, it seems like fair play given Moscow's tradition of replacing the local populations in its empires with Russians.

[Cronos]

“Putin’s alchemy has transmuted millions of Russian speakers into ardent Ukrainians.”

So very true.

I remember speaking to Ukrainians in Warsaw back in 2010-2012 and all were pretty meh about national identity.

But Putin’s invasion has made them ardent Ukrainians

[Right_Wing_Madman]

As far as the territory Ukraine held before the current war, Putin's alchemy has transmuted millions of Russian speakers into ardent Ukrainians.

This hasn't happened at all. Ukraine's war against the Donbass since 2014 has transformed Ukraine's Russian-speaking population into hardcore Putinists.

Regarding Crimea, who actually knows

If you've been to Crimea, you'd know. It's totally pro-Russian.