One of the ways to build an Empire is to offer a deal to a neighbor that is of common interest and mutual benefit.
The EU is offering the Ukraine IMF and World Bank loans supposedly for their benefit but with a bunch of progressive New World Order strings attached that would effectively enslave Ukrainians.
Russia has to offer financial incentives but does so with fewer strings and the money remains in Eastern European Slavic hands ideally trickling back to Russia in trade.
Ukrainians are not rich in accumulated wealth, but have abundant natural resources that will fuel both Ukrainian and Russian productive expansion, (diverse industry) needed in both nations. The EU deal would have the West control these resources and charge high energy prices to Ukrainians (globull warming and environmental necessity, of course), while Russia will supply cheap energy for the people and industry.
Putin looks at Ukraine as an investment, and has to match what the EU offers, but he can offer fewer strings and still have it benefit Russia.The EU looks at Ukraine as an environment that needs protection,............from Ukrainians, and they have the programs to do it.
As for the other provinces you mention, there are Russian interests, and ethnic Russians there, too.
Exactly. If Russians are investing their money into a company building aircraft engines they are buying this engines to install on their aircraft. It makes jobs for Ukrainians and taxes for their government. If Europeans are investing in said companies they are closing their plants and redeveloping it into a shopping malls to sell European products replacing jobs with welfare benefits.
Russia and the changing world - "Russia is part of the greater world whether we are talking about the economy, media coverage or cultural development.""We will strive to ensure a new world order, one that meets current geopolitical realities, and one that develops smoothly and without unnecessary upheaval."
"It is often said that human rights override state sovereignty. No doubt about this – crimes against humanity must be punished by the International Court."
"It is important for the United Nations and its Security Council to effectively counter the dictates of some countries and their arbitrary actions in the world arena. Nobody has the right to usurp the prerogatives and powers of the UN, particularly the use of force as regards sovereign nations."
"Russia is actively participating in the international effort to support the ailing European economies, and is consistently working with its partners to formulate collective decisions under the auspices of the IMF. Russia is not opposed in principle to direct financial assistance in some cases. At the same time I believe that external financial injections can only partially solve the problem. A true solution will require energetic, system-wide measures. European leaders face the task of effecting large-scale transformations that will fundamentally change many financial and economic mechanisms to ensure genuine budget discipline." - Vladimir Putin