Maybe, just maybe, the people who live there prefer to align with Russians rather than Georgians.
Just as the Germans who lived in the Sudetenland preferred to align with Hitler's Germany. If they truly want to go down that road, then there are mechanisms under international law for them to do so that don't include Putin's cynical land-grab.
Look at all of the efforts to support local sentiments in Bosnia and Kosovo
Not sure what you mean by this Lonewolf, as in Bosnia certainly all sides were 'local' (there was a reason they were called
Bosnian Serbs,
Bosnian Croats, and
Bosnian Muslims/Bosniaks).
I know there's a counter-narrative (usually propagated by RT and others) by which the West imposed its will on the Balkans for its own imperial reasons, but the fact was that we only got involved (and reluctantly at that) to try and prevent a genocide on our own doorstep.
"Them people are nuts from the get go."
I'm sure many would describe Texans in such a way, but few would see that as an excuse for Mexico to invade.