this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2025
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I have zero knowledge of the history or geopoliticial millieu there, I know there's obviously lots of Ukrainians who speak both languages but not sure that translates to them wanting to necessarily join Russia per se.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 day ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (7 children)

Yes. The Donetsk and Luhansk separatist republics were created by pro-Russian Ukranians with Moscow's backing. Russia officially annexed them in 2022.

It's all a bit complicated though. You have ethnic Russians who consider themselves Russian despite being born within the borders of what we known as Ukraine. You also have many who were born in Soviet Ukraine prior to the collapse of the USSR in 1991 who still feel an affinity for Russia. And pro-Russian politics have existed for as long as independent Ukraine has.

My guess is that even if the war ended today and the borders returned to the pre-2014 borders, there would still be a pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine for a very long time.

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