[Freee-dame]

Ukraine and Russia were both part of the Soviet Union when Crimea was declared to be part of Ukraine. It did not matter then. I think it was done to satisfy the then USSR dictator. Most of the people in Crimea speak Russian and perhaps do not mind being made part of Russia again.

Regardless, Ukraine asked for help. Obama did not help them militarily. Crimea was gone.

[Texas Eagle]

And that was after Obama suckered Ukraine into disarming themselves on the premise that we would defend them against any sort of Russian aggression, right?

My mind plays tricks on me but that seems to be the way I remember it.

[goldstategop]

They tried to secede in 1991 and failed. Russia was forced to swallow it because of its weakness.

But Crimea never really went away for Russian nationalists and they hated Yeltsin for giving it up.

Its the only region of Ukraine that’s majority Russian.

[gleeaikin]

I wonder if Crimea was granted to Ukraine as part of the negotiations that caused Ukraine to surrender its very large number of nukes to Russia between 1991 and 1996. If that is the case then a delay in providing the military aid Congress had approved would have been especially bitter to the Ukrainians. Since both Bush 1 and Clinton had been part of the process which stripped them of their strongest defense.