> I think this dehumanizes them. No. I said they were under Russian control. Not that they're not human. The invading army is under Putin's control, that doesn

> I think this dehumanizes them. No. I said they were under Russian control. Not that they're not human. The invading army is under Putin's control, that doesn't imply they're not human (although they regularly commit inhuman acts). > A lot has happened since 1991. Don't you agree that a poll from 2021 is more relevant now? The poll is heavily skewed by Russian propaganda in areas under their control. > An obvious explanation would be that only the areas where enough people wanted to leave Ukraine were controlled by the separatists. First, area of control is primarily determined by military, not civilians. Second, why would there be such a stark difference in opinion within Donbas? Doesn't make any sense. > If you mean that it's never moral to support separatists, I disagree completely. I don't mean that, it depends on the specific situation. But the separatists are just a distraction, it's not what this war is about. Russia invaded the area which was against joining Russia, simply because Putin wanted to subdue Ukraine. He couldn't care less about the separatists, they're just a tool. In fact, he brutally crushes actual organic separatist movements (Chechnya). > so I feel that this war is about power and imperialism for the US as much as it is for Russia You feel wrong then. What Russia is doing is bordering genocide (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegations_of_genocide_of_Ukrainians_in_the_2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegations_of_genocide_of_Ukr...). The US is doing everything to help them. If Ukraine succeeds and becomes a prosperous liberal democracy, it would make the alliance of liberal democracies stronger and the US would benefit from that. That doesn't change that it's mostly right to help Ukraine. Russia is effectively a dictatorship run by a psychopath who kills his opponents and uses mass torture to achieve his goals. The US is a democracy whose current leadership has a normal level of empathy. > only 54% wanted to be separate from Russia That's a majority... In any case, the annexation by Russia was wrong and should be reversed. After that, there may be talks about independence and a proper referendum.