Anti-Russian propaganda is happy to use this Putin slip, but Putin is the one who said it. I’m leaning towards this being a slip-up on his part, because it doesn’t make much sense for Russia to alienate potential allies like the coal-miners in Donbas.
Google translate is a little bit weak in the article, but Putin’s response about Crimea was that Crimea as a tourist destination is not up to Russian standards and the facilities are in the state of disrepair - “when the miners came in, it’s all the same to them, they got drunk and went to the beach”.
Also to consider, Donbas (the region where Russian soldiers are running around with guns looking for popular support) is THE Coal-Mining Country, they are a major force in the region. It makes little sense for Putin to call them drunks. Maybe he just lashes out because they didn’t support the Russian Liberation plan, don’t know.
Or maybe he’s past appealing to anyone in Ukraine, he’s just doing his own thing