Uh, he already has carved-out a portion of Ukraine for himself. There's "pedantic" for you.
That's correct, but he hasn't claimed -- and has rejected claims by some rebels -- for Eastern Ukrainian territory. Not to say that Russia policy won't change, but annexing some or all of Eastern Ukraine doesn't seem to be Russia's intention here. Ultimately, to quote Hillary Clinton, "what difference does it make?" Both the US and Russia wanted political power over their respective neighbors. Whether that's by annexation, weakening the government or installing a friendly regime is kind of besides the point. The tactic of creating and supporting a proxy army is where I saw the parallel.