My General Impression

Of the Ukraine situation: Putin has put himself in a strange, difficult-to-win situation. I suppose he could provoke a war, win it, but where would that leave him? Holder of the world leader asshole championship belt? Does it shift the weight of Russian power? 

My best guess is that Putin sees himself as "winning" in the past 5-6 years by destabilizing the West and seizing Crimea, Georgia, and other former Soviet territory and yet, feels empty or feels like he has little to show for it. Instead, he feels generally threatened because his neighbors want to join NATO (is this a surprise given his prior behavior?) In short, he seems to be both pressing his advantage and paranoid. 

This will be one of the stranger wars -- it seems driven more by psychology than tangible desire.