“Regardless of what you or I think, Putin believes Crimea is an intrinsic part of Russia. He said so in his July 2021 article ‘On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians’”
Oh, too funny!
Putin has insulted and vilified Ukrainians for years; and on the flip side, Ukrainians have a white-hot hatred of Russians.
Some unity.
Putin considers Crimea to be part of Russia. He will do whatever is necessary to preserve the homeland. An attack against Crimea is an attack on Russia. You can laugh all you want, but that is the reality.