Honestly, I’m not convinced of that.
I think there is a lot of manipulated unrest and Russian agents on the ground in the Eastern Ukraine.
I don't underestimate Russia and their aid to the separatists a bit, it's just that realistically they don't have to do nearly as much as they're accused of to have everything keep going their way. The Ukrainians have been on the verge of tearing one another up for a long time and now they have the chance.