One correction, Khrushchev was ethnic Russian, he served as boss of Ukraine, under Stalin.
So he was trying to make nice with the Ukrainians, remember at the time he hadn’t fully consolidated power, so this was a gesture to get the Ukrainians on his side.
I stand corrected. No matter who claimed sovereignty over the borderlands village where Khrushchev was born, he was ethnically Russian. So it’s still mysterious how Ukraine was able to gain sovereignty over Crimea. Ukraine is in for a whole lot of hurt. The young people there whether ethnic Russian or Ukraine see no hope for the future if chained to the Russian Empire. The Ukraine nationalists are doing their best to discriminate against Russian speakers. And this just drives them into Putin’s arms.