Fresh from conquering Crimea by appealing to the territory's past as part of Russia and a referendum that doesn't even appear to be remotely honest and free, perhaps the Russians might want to contemplate their enclave of Kaliningrad that was once part of Germany (known as East Prussia) until Russia conquered and annexed that territory:
Since the Russian government claims that the residents of Crimea have the legal justification to bolt from Ukraine, can we assume that the residents of Kaliningrad have the same right to join the EU? ...
[When the Soviet Union broke apart] we had acknowledged Russia’s de facto but not its de jure possession of Kaliningrad. The U.S. was not challenging Russia’s ownership of the region because its legal status did not matter to Washington.
One, I didn't realize that we didn't recognize the legality of Russia's claim--just didn't challenge the reality of control.
Two, residents could be increasingly unhappy with Russian control and identify more with Europe than Russia.
So my thinking about placing Kaliningrad at risk in case of war with Russia over the Baltic States (who are members of NATO) could be a pressure point in peacetime, too.
