“The same you mentioned regarding Southwest applies to Russian regions nowadays.”
A better comparison would be the Canadian province of Alberta. Alberta was mostly settled by Americans during and after the US Civil War and to this day is the most pro-American of all of the Canadian provinces.
The people and their culture are much more American than Canadian.
This does not give the USA any right to invade Canada, occupy Alberta, and then hold elections under US supervision to decide what happens to Alberta.
I did not know you were okay with Ukraine joining the EU. Thank you for correcting me on this.
If Albertans want to become Americans, why not?
I can’t see any reasons for it because nobody persecutes them and generally Canada rates above the US per quality of life.
I can understand why the Crimeans have chosen otherwise.