Truthfully, it is not “apologetic” to look at Putin objectively, for what he is and what he wants to do. But you must observe the ground rules.
1) Putin is a Russian. Russia is his country. He is not an American, does not have American values, and sees America as a competitor, not an ally.
2) As leader of Russia, he puts Russia first, and tries to do things that make it stronger, if he feels he can get away with it.
3) Since the time when the Czars wrested Crimea away from the Ottoman Empire, Crimea was part of Russia. They saw it as strategically vital, because it gave Russia a warm-water port. Though Stalin enigmatically gave it to Ukraine, when the Soviet Union broke up, Ukraine had to offer that port to Russia on a very long-term lease, or, even in its weakened state, Russia would have tried to take it.
Okay, so add this together, and it should be no surprise that when the pro-Russian government of Ukraine fell, the Russians took the opportunity to snatch Crimea back.
But this being said, there is still great risk here. To start with, eastern Ukraine is heavily Russian, and a tempting target for Putin to snatch as well.
Likewise the Baltic states, importantly, *not* just Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, but also Finland, only gained independence from Russia after WWI, and only Finland kept theirs after WWII. They know all too well that Russia may try to eat them again.
Competitor does not necessarily mean "enemy."