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.
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.
Perhaps before the 2022 invasion. You can see for example the first round of the last presidential election results here - the light blue supported the pro-Russia candidate Yuriy Boyko, who didn’t advocate being part of Russia but instead wanted better relations with Russia. After the invasion, Boyko himself apparently became part of a new party of ex-pro-russian candidates who now support Ukraine against Russia.
Generally it’s hard to say how many fit into the category of “wanted an independent Ukraine but that is still close to Russia”, but my sense is that it was a pretty large part of the blue group. Consider for example the average American liberal who wants the US to be more like Canada - probably there are some who would rather have their part of the country become part of Canada, but it’s probably not most and certainly nowhere near all. Additionally, it’s likely that many who actually did want to live in Russia changed their mind after the atrocities of the invasion.