Its evident that unless a way is found to create a space for Russian speaking Ukrainians - the country won’t last for much longer.
All of this is due not to Russia but to the fact Kiev has a legitimacy problem. It can continue to deny it or take steps to address it.
The ousted president was a Russian stooge who now wants the Russians to give Crimea back to the Ukraine.
There’s plenty of space for Russian speaking Ukrainians. My wife, like the majority of Ukrainians, grew up speaking Russian and didn’t know Ukrainian all that well until she had formal training in school. And this wasn’t in the east, it’s central Ukraine (Vinnitsya Oblast.) All this talk about Russian speakers is crap.