What is there to gain for Russia? Do these territories have any military usefulness? Or economic? Enough to make the international sanctions worth it?
Obviously, a complicated subject but I'll try to summarize as best I can: ## tl;dr Putin is trying to create a symbol to the Russian people of the strength and unity of the Russian people as things get worse in the global economy. While at the same time he's trying to get more secure borders as Russia becomes weaker due to its demographic problems. ## Slightly longer explanation - Putin feels like Ukraine is part of…
> 1 - Why some people might claim Russia is part of Ukraine:
All the arguments you presented would also support the claim that it's actually Russia that is part of Ukraine.