Not that I'm in favor of Russia grabbing Crimea, but facts are facts. Three facts are not much in dispute. Fact one: Joseph Stalin ethnically cleansed Crimea in 1944, internally exiling all non-Russians to Central Asia.
Fact two: Crimea was a part of Russia from the late 1700s until 1954 when its administration was internally transferred to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, himself a Ukrainian. Fact three: most current residents of Crimea think of themselves as Russians, not as Ukrainians.
Add to the above the long-time Soviet/Russian military and naval presence in Crimea. Crimea is home to the Russian navy's Black Sea fleet and its only warm water port.
Given these undisputed facts, it is difficult to argue that the people of Crimea cannot self-determine to reaffiliate with Russia.
