This is why There Are 700,000 Russians In Ukraine

Putin is keeping his massive 700,000 man strong army in defence in eastern Ukraine for a reason. First, he does not want to inflict unnecessary damage and casualties to the Russian speaking people of east ukraine where the war is being fought as that would defeat the purpose of his special military operation goals and would give the West a powerful propaganda win should he destroy Donetsk in a major Russian offensive. Second, given the recent escalations by the west, including their ramping up of the defence industries, there is a big threat that NATO may enter the war in some fashion. Putin, in response, has made recent trips to his strongest allies of Belarus, Vietnam, China and North Korea, with whom he made a military pact. It is clear that Putin is preparing for a major escalation by the West. The recent atacms strike on Crimea was a clear and wilful provocation attempt by the US using Ukraine to induce Putin into a rash response. So far, Putin is not biting as his long term goal is to bleed America dry in this unwinnable war while showing the world that he is not a threat and therefore, that there is no need for NATO. Any major offensive from Putin could see a currently divided Western populace galvanise from the fear of seeing hundreds of thousands of Russians marching across western Ukraine. Putin will avoid this at all costs.