You really think the Russians didn't just want the same stuff? Everyone wants this stuff. 😂
Eastern Ukraine is the equivalent of a gigantic gold mine and everyone wants a piece. Same as Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, any land rich in resources. None of this really has anything to do with security or ethnicity or human rights or whatnot.

This was supposed to be how Russia recouperated the war costs. They wanted to conquer the land and then mine it, but the war is taking so long it is making it more expensive than the land is actually worth.