The 2014 Ukrainian election was won by pro-Russian Yanukovitch, who ran on a platform of Ukraine joining the EU, which he reneged on after the election. The problem for Russia is that Ukrainians travel, both to Russia and the EU and clearly see the better standard of living in the EU.
Initially, Yanukovych said Ukraine’s integration with the EU was the country’s “strategic aim,”
https://fortune.com/2022/03/02/viktor-yanukovych-yanukovich-putin-put-back-in-power-ukraine-russia/
Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych announced that his country would not sign a landmark partnership agreement with the European Union
https://nationalinterest.org/commentary/ukraine-why-yanukovych-said-no-europe-9453
A poll conducted October 2-15 by GfK Ukraine showed three times as many Ukrainians favoring the association agreement with the European Union as supporting the Russian-led Customs Union:
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2013/11/18/viktor-yanukovych-losing-europe-and-losing-the-ukrainian-public/
Russians are there to rescue the Ukraine from the rogue government in Kiev.