I went there in I think it was 2007-8. It is ethnically maybe 2/3 Russian, say 1/6 Tatar (purged by Stalin), and maybe 1/6 Ukrainian at that time. All the nice property on the south coast is owned by Russians. The Russian Navy was berthed in Sevastopol. Big old heavy ships.
The Charge of the Light Brigade was obviously suicide - fascinating site on the west end.
It did not feel like Ukraine at all - it felt like Russia.
Good points. It is Russian now but the population was not Russian before Stalin’s ethnic cleaning in 1944.
While it is unfortunate to reward genocide, the area is Russian now and most of the population would rather be united with Russia.