Someone explain how exactly did the Putin/Ukraine thing started.?

Here are all the 4 answers:

1. It's not because they are speaking Russian, he doing that for totally different reasons:

a) One of the arguments of Putin's brainwashing machine for "why Russia should be under dictatorship", is: "because Russians are different from other nations and cannot handle democracy". As up until dissolution of the USSR there were no any difference in mentality of Russians and Ukrainians, any advancement of Ukraine towards an actual democracy is a threat to that statement, and as such a threat to Putin's reign.

b) Russian military industry is heavily integrated with Ukrainian military industry (which is located mostly in the East Ukraine), so Putin wants to control it.

c) Putin has delusions of granger and wants to control all parts of former USSR, so when one of those countries tries to behave like an independent country he tries to punish it as much as he can, so that others would not try in the future (the previous example was Georgia).

d) He sees Crimea as an important strategic military base and East Ukraine as a proper ground road to that base, so he wants them, and he thinks that he is strong enough to get them by force.

2. This is still going on because Ukrainians thought that they are leaving in a peaceful region and as such they don't need a strong army (like most Europeans do). So, their military become very weak. And because Putin attacked them when they had a lot of internal political problems (more on this in answer on your 4th question).

3. It is started in February this year.

4. In late February this year Ukrainian President fled the country after a few months of the protests. It took time till Ukrainian Parliament realized that President has gone, then it took them some time till the Parliament elected temporary government. And it took time till this new government could actually to function. While Ukraine was headless, Putin invaded Crimea. It was easy, because Russia already had big military bases there, so the forces needed to cross only a few kilometers to take over everything. And Ukrainian soldiers did nothing, because they weren't given any orders (there were no government to give one). Then Putin started his operation in South-Eastern Ukraine, which were more complicated, because there are no Russian military bases there. It got even more complicated for Putin, when Ukrainians in many of the districts in that regions put up a strong resistance even so Ukrainian government didn't do much yet. The two districts, where people didn't resist much are now the districts at war.

First of all, Putin is not trying to claim eastern Ukraine. Youd better look close to home to see who is trying to take over Ukraine (if you are in the US or Europe). Russia is supporting the pro-independence movement in eastern Ukraine which began as a civilian protest over local control and other issues, even autonomy.

The new Kiev government elected in May would not talk to the self-proclaimed independent republics of Lugansk and Donetsk. They started attacking the residents there. The Malaysian plane was caught in the crossfire I am sure. 2,000 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine according to the U.N. and hundreds of thousands still fleeing the conflict.

In November of last year U.S. officials went to Kiev during the Maidan protests of the president for not signing a European trade deal that Ukrainains thought they would be a step to joining the EU. The U.S. then backed the illegal coup of that president in February. In May there was an election with Poroshenko winning. He was the least fascist candidate but since winning he has doubled down on taking over the anti-Kiev forces.

the borders of Ukraine were significantly expanded by the Soviet Communist Party for its own purposes [to better control the Ukrainian people, who had backed the White Russians in the Russian Civil War.]

Putin is attempting to return areas that were Russian prior to 1916 to Russia.

that's easy!..Putin wants to reform the Soviet Union!..Ukraine desires continued freedom tho!..oopsie!