Don't throw the baby (detente with Russia) out with the dirty bathwater (Trump).

I disagree with the article's treatment of events in the Crimea. Putin used disguised Russian troops that were supposed to stay in their bases to conquer the Crimea, while pretending that they were not Russian troops. (He admitted the truth later.) Since Putin doesn't allow free and fair elections in Russia, we can't give any credence to the referendum he ran in the Crimea. It could be true that a majority of people in the Crimea before Putin's takeover would have preferred to be part of Russia, but a referendum run by Putin afterwards is no proof of that.

And this doesn't change the fact that Putin conquered it militarily.