[elhombrelibre]

By EU expansion you mean not falling under Putin’s dominance and being free of the Soviet/Putin empire.

[Ben Ficklin]

You have to look at it as a sequence of events over an extended period rather than a single isolated event:

The 2 plus 4 Treaty on Re-unification of Germany
The Orange Revolution and a western leaning govt
Bush's failed attempt to get Ukraine and Georgia into NATO
The Russian clawback and getting a Russian leaning govt into power
Renewal of Russia's 50 year lease on the Crimean port
The 2nd Orange Revolution and re-establishment of a western leaning govt
Russia's move to protect the port
Russia's attempt to establish a slice of eastern Ukaraine as a corridor connecting Russia to Crimea and the port.