The 55% includes autonomous status inside Ukraine, which is still a desire for operating as, effectively, an autonomous state.
ETA: I do think - especially when you include the full territory of the Oblast - that they would select Ukraine, as said above. But the “autonomy” vote is sufficiently large that I don’t think it’s wise to try and run over their opinions without regard.
I was thinking the same thing. This gives an honorable out to both sides; they can both honestly say “it’s up to the people who live there.”
What Ukraine simply cannot agree to, would NEVER agree to, is demilitarization, or a permanent promise of neutrality. Those would be Ukraine surrendering its sovereignty.
No, it’s not a separate state, it’s a desire for regional autonomy within Ukraine. 
Sorry, but I’m not going to waste my time arguing this any more.
FWIW, the article I read about a possible referendum on Crimea and Donbas referenced Erdogan of Turkey saying that the idea had come up in negotiations between Ukraine’s representatives and Russia’s and was (of course) brought up by the Ukrainian side. So it has been mentioned officially, but no further details were included.
President Biden is publicly saying Putin must go. That’s a very provocative statement from the head of state Imho.
Russia isn’t Iraq or Libya. Calling for a regime change in Russia is new territory.
I feel the same way. Putin has to go. Thankfully my opinion won’t cause an international incident.
What would be deliciously ironic is if the tank engines were sold off and ended up in Ukrainian tractors!
Hah!
That would also explain why the Ukrainian tractors have power enough to tow a tank (though there are other explanations for that.)
It seems that the public in a Ukraine town that was held by the Russians have basically told the Russians that they’re not having them there anymore:
The crowd demanded the release of mayor Yuri Fomichev, who had been taken prisoner by the Russian troops.
Attempts by Russian troops to intimidate the growing protest failed (stun grenades and firing over the crowd’s heads) and on Saturday afternoon Fomichev was let go by his captors.
I guess it’s a good sign that Russian troops did not just fire into the crowd. I suspect that the crowd was large enough, and the troop numbers small enough and the crowd pissed off enough that the Russians realized that if they started shooting people they’d be quickly overwhelmed and basically be torn to pieces by angry citizens.
The whole County is rotten with corruption. It is run by Gangsters and the Secret Police… who are in collusion with the gangsters.
Provocative, yes. Also extremely well justified. It’s about time someone showed some spine.
The White House has walked back what Biden said.
I’ll note that Lindsey Graham was roundly criticized for saying something similar earlier in the invasion, and I think rightly so.
In previous presidential campaigns, Joe Biden tended to be rather gaffe-prone. I think this may be another example of the same - it can be exploited by Russia for domestic consumption.
It’s quite true, of course, and hopefully there are plenty of Russians thinking along similar lines right now - but it would be best if they acted on those thoughts themselves, rather than seemingly at the behest of a foreign power.
I gather those surveys solicited or received responses primarily or exclusively from people outside of Ukraine (or Russia, for that matter)?
Because I agree. That would be a very tidy solution to this problem for those of us not facing the prospect of—or even the potential for—a Russian land invasion. But it seems like a pretty lousy deal for Ukraine. Not that they can necessarily get a better deal—indeed, things may yet end up worse—but it’s a tough pill to swallow, to think that there should have to be any question as to the appropriate status of those occupied territories. Like the paradox of tolerance, but taken to a bloody extreme. Letting the auspices of democracy give an air of legitimacy to the ambitions of a tyrant who cares for democracy not at all.
It shows no more spine than Trump saying he would get Mexico to pay for the wall. Idle threats do not show spine.
I don’t believe in judging people by the dumbest thing they ever said, but being able to express consistently the views of you and your government on the war in Ukraine is currently a primary duty for a NATO national leader. This was an unusually bad gaffe.
It will be very interesting to see if the White House staff put out a statement “clarifying” what Biden meant, as they’ve done a few times recently.
Headlines say they already did.
Here we go:
A White House official asserted that Biden was “not discussing Putin’s power in Russia or regime change.” The official, who was not authorized to comment by name and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden’s point was that “Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region.”
How about judging people by the dumbest thing they ever did – on a huge scale – instead of what they said? Like judging Putin for devastating millions of innocent people in a harmless country that was never a threat to him, for his own ego.
Biden spoke from the heart. If that has to be politically mitigated, walked back by the White House, fine. But it may well give Putin something to seriously think about.
Politically or diplomatically contentious perhaps, easy to take out of context even, but a statement of fact nonetheless. I’d say the biggest risk is that Russian media—Putin’s proponga machine—might take it and run with it as an example of how the US and “its cronies” in Europe have it out for poor old Mother Russia, but then who are we kidding? If statements of fact are not provided, Putin will be more than happy to manufacture his own for general distribution.
Kind of makes me think of how “moderates” react when racists get called out for being racists. Too often, it’s not “Gosh, you’re right!” but “Oh, hey, you shouldn’t say that, that’s disrespectful and uncivil!” Meanwhile, racists are going to believe people that they feel comfortable “othering” are subhuman and unworthy of basic human rights regardless. So too with Putin and his attitudes towards Ukraine.
The fact is that Biden misstated administration policy. I’m glad Biden is President rather than Trump, but I see no reason to find ways to say Joe B. is better than he is.
The biggest risk I see is that this gaffe will be one of the factors should Putin, seeing no way to back down from his disastrous-for-all invasion without losing his freedom, tries a battlefield nuclear attack. If this happens, it will be purely Putin’s fault. Goading a bully, as Biden did, is a mistake but not a crime.
Whether or not it deserves scare quotes, I’m likely what you see as a moderate. And I fully support Joe Biden’s freedom of speech. I think what Biden meant to say was what is in the DavidNRockies post above. But if I am wrong, and Biden means what he said, I disagree — without wanting Joe to lose his political job or whatever remains of his academic job, or otherwise be held accountable. The solution for bad speech is more, better speech, and this administration is far superior to the alternative.
Luhansk and Donetsk, sure. But if I recall correctly Russia has “encouraged” long time residents to leave Crimea and Russians to move in. I am less sure that a referendum is fair in that case.