The war started when russian military entered Crimea ("little green men") and Donbas ("separatists") in 2014, not a second earlier.

And all ethnic minorities were allowed to vote in Ukraine, on all levels of administration, as long as they live under the administration of the ukrainian government or are registered with ukrainian embassies in foreign countries.

To the east of Ukraine is a huge state that has colonized many nations and is stealing their oil and gas to make its oligarchy hideously rich and fund further colonization.