In the Crimea, the largest segment of the population are ethnic Russians. Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars are minorities, albeit significant ones. And of course with generations of mixing, there are a lot of people with mixed identities.

The upshot is that Russia has a legitimate interest in the state of things in Crimea, by dint of the ethnic Russian majority there. The people of that peninsula should be the ones to determine their political future, and if they choose (by democratic methods) to be part of Russia, Ukraine should honor that.

Where I don't support Russia in this matter is their use of military aggression to try and seize that territory. The situation in Crimea, both in 2014 and 2022, was not such that the use of military force was justified, and Russia brought the resulting sanctions on itself. I'd like to see a ceasefire and the considerable work of laying a foundation for referendum begun.