there was a referendum in each of the states that seceded from ukraine. ukraine should be expected to accept the democratic will of the people in these regions and pull out of them and the united states should tell them that.
yes, there are questions about the referenda, but they also appear to be reflective of the will of the people in these provinces, or oblasts.
this would be a shift in us policy, but it's actually not one that requires a lot of mental gymnastics, and the previous administration's policy should, quite frankly, be viciously criticized for what it was, which is undemocratic.