Some of the regions in eastern Ukraine that Russia has focused on have a Russian speaking population, some of which do not necessarily like the Ukrainian govern

Some of the regions in eastern Ukraine that Russia has focused on have a Russian speaking population, some of which do not necessarily like the Ukrainian government, and there's a claim a military group that operates there has Nazi views and has since become part of the military in some capacity. So the stated claim is somewhere around "Ukrainian Nazis are oppressing ethnically Russian people living there who would rather be part of Russia." Hence why they did the whole show and dance of having "votes" in those regions to become Russian states, etc. And of course, if you can claim the other side are Nazis, it's a great narrative for your side. Putin's stated reason is "the denazification of Ukraine". (Do not speak Russian, but have seen a lot of the stuff Russian propaganda accounts are pushing.)