Vladimir Putin said in an interview that he would not allow the people of Donbass to be `eaten up` by Ukrainian extremist fanatics
“We proceed from only one thing, which is we cannot abandon the people who live in the southeast of the country to nationalists to eat them up,” Putin told the state-run Rossia television network.
Those people include “not only ethnic Russians, but also Russian speakers who are looking toward Russia,” Putin said. “There is nothing excessive in that position.”
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/putin-says-will-not-abandon-russian-republics-ukraine/ri11993