[Steve Van Doorn]

The Russians are going to simply expand the Crimea area (Pro-Russians) they will keep in my opinion. Russia no longer has the power to occupy a land of people that are unwilling to be controlled.

Side note:
What I'm suggesting is when a nation can't control their population they resort to first despotism. Then they let those lands go as was the case with the USSR.
Despotism/surveillance state of their minions is costly.

[little jeremiah]

Russia is not the USSR anymore and Putin is not Stalin.

When Russians liberate areas from the Ukrainian military, they are greeting citizens with hugs, cheers, thanks and so on. Every place is thankful to be freed from the tyranny and thuggery of the Ukraine government.