I get the feeling Putin isn’t trying to annex all of Ukraine. Wouldn’t be surprised if he takes from Donetsk and Luhansk to the east though. Maybe not.
Personal opinion, he’s setting the stage to destabilize Ukraine by bolstering the separatist movement. Other than directly bordering Russia, an unstable Ukraine might be less likely to join NATO.
Seems there are some images that are falsely being attributed to the conflict as well.