Putin didn’t WANT (and still doesn’t) the rest of Ukraine. He DID want his major naval facility back at Sevastopol though. He just can’t politically abandon the rebels, who are “loud and proud” ethnic Russian. It also gives him a chance to blood his troops, by letting them take “leave” — I am sure its good for their…

Russia is quite powerful when they share a land border, they could easily stand “toe-to-toe” with the US if both of us were willing to go that far.