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securing a warm water port with access to fresh water.
That was the reason given 8 years ago, and it does make strategic sense. The Sevastopol naval base had been used by Russia/the USSR since the 18th century. A lot of money was spent on it during the Cold War. When the USSR broke up in 1991 and Ukraine got independence, Russia lost the right to use it, so they leased it. And then stole it in 2014.
nick_h.
I work in academia. I have a few contacts in Russia and a few Russian friends at work. Obviously none of them support the war, but their insight into the Crimean invasion was very interesting. In their view it was nothing to do with nationality and very much about securing a warm water port with access to fresh water.
Also a big challenge for museums in Russia is preventing the ruling class and the rich from "borrowing" cultural treasures to decorate their personal houses.
There's a lot of effort going into creating very high quality digital and physical replicas to lab to politically connected people and churches to relieve this pressure.