Thanks for answering this. (Anyone reading his response, note that he lives in Eastern Ukraine, so his response is super relevant).
Here is how I understand your response.
- Ethnicity is not really relevant to this and people's ethnicity in this part of the world is a complex issues - whether Ukrainian, Russian, a mix or something else.
- Everybody speaks Russian in everyday life, because it's convenient.
- People are not well off, but they have seen much worse times if they remember the 1990s.
- There is no strong sense of nationality in this region - either way.
- Many people are attracted by the possibility of higher incomes as a result from being Russian citizens rather than Ukrainian. (Maybe because of the Soviet legacy, a lot of people don't feel a buzz in their heart at the thought of Ukraine, because they grew up identifying themselves primarily as Soviet)
- Nobody is discriminated in Eastern Ukraine and there IS TV in Russian.
- The protesters in Eastern Ukraine have not formulated any specific demands and some may be there just to fight with no particular reason.
- You had a complete u-turn in your view of Russia because Putin choose not to respect Ukraine's borders.