And might those ethnic Russians have been there due to a sustained campaign on the part of the Soviets to depopulate the region of ethnic Ukrainians and replace them with ethnic Russians as part of a plan to increase loyalty of the region to the central Soviet authority?

Literally the exact opposite happened. The Soviets did a Ukrainization campaign to support and popularize Ukrainian language, literature and culture in regions where it had previously been marginal at best. Ukrainians were disproportionately represented in the leadership positions of the Soviet state. The Soviet Union was extremely pro-Ukrainian.

> “I’m not racist”

> Proceeds to be racist towards Russians, Chinese, Indians and Pakistanis

Russia was invading militarily Crimea well before 2014

Lol, do you mean the lease agreement in which Ukraine was getting a ton of money for the Russian naval base in Crimea? Is that your definition of “invading”?

Ah yes the dehumanizing Russian rhetoric towards the Ukrainians of… *checks notes* calling them a brotherly people. Smh…how awful of them.