The Crimea was ethnically Russian, had been part of Russia since Catherine the Great [before the US was a country], and the deep state was maneuvering to cut off Russian access to the Black Sea. Oh and the continued advancement of the what we now know to be war mongering expansionist anti-democratic NATO/ EU.
Catherine got it when Poland was partitioned.
True, but even of it wasn’t, let’s be realistic. Militarily, Russia is winning the war. When has the winner of a war EVER just given up the territory it gained and continues to occupy at the peace negotiation? Current military status should be a realistic baseline for any peace negotiations. Russia isn’t going to voluntarily give up the land it conquered in the current war and they certainly aren’t giving up Crimea either. Any negotiation predicated on Russia doing so is doomed to fail.
The Crimea was ethnically Russian
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Crimea is only ‘ethnically’ Russian because Russia deported the Ukrainians to Russia and replaced them with Russians.
In 1000AD, the Turkish Empire controlled the southern part of Crimea and the Kievan Rus’ Empire controlled the eastern part of Crimea into what is now called Russia (which did not exist at the time nor did Katherine the Great whore). The Peshmegs controlled the rest of the province.
BTW: Peter the so-called Great stole the name Rus to make his Muscovy Empire seem important by renaming it Russia, and not just collections of rude buildings in swamp and forest.
The Crimean peninsula at that time, 1462AD, was controlled by Poland.
Later your heroine Katherine took Crimea from Poland.