Putinistas ignore the actual events and history of Ukraine. I understand their anger with the nitwit and Carterized Obama. But allowing one’s self to be duped by Putin is as bad as being an Obamabot.
Power and decisiveness are political aphrodisiacs. Putin becomes more attractive to some people when contrasted to the feckless Obama. Those who might sympathize with the Ukraine are by necessity weak as there is no military option without risking an unthinkable world war.
Nationalism also plays into this situation. Putin is a Russian ultranationalist. That is attractive to many who hate diversity in the west.
Not only is the Ukraine screwed, much of the former Soviet Union awaits a similar fate. Pushing ethnic Russians into East Europe was an obvious move to secure their holdings by Stalin and his successors.