Lol, You mean like they actually did in 1994?
You know, when the US and Russia strong-armed Ukraine into giving up it's huge nuclear weapons arsenal for security assurances? The Budapest Memorandum? The agreement Russia violated when it annexed Crimea in 2014. The one Russia violated again in 2022. The one Russia violates every single day.
You believe everyone should just accept that because the Soviets migrated a bunch of Russians into Crimea, Ukraine should allow Russia to take it back, or shoot, even let it secede? Despite Russia agreeing to respect Ukraine's borders in exchange for the world's 3rd largest supply (at the time) of nuclear weapons.
Russia is only even somewhat a near peer of the US because of nukes. Whataboutism trying to draw parallels is illogical.