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@vinylvillain
Russia needs to secure Crimea as it's the base for the Black Sea Fleet. From any Russian perspective it is unthinkable/acceptable to loose their Mediterranean naval base. That is the primary reason behind any attempt at annexing Crimea.
On top of that their are numerous political and economic reasons, which have been discussed already.
Finally the uprising in Ukraine is a big fuck you to Putin, and the situation is a defining moment for him - if he backs down, he will look weak, not only to his supporters, but also to those other states who currently are de facto Russian regions in all but name, thus perhaps causing and encouraging further unrest in the region.
However if he goes ahead with serious military action in the Ukraine, he sets Russia on a path where many of the most powerful oligarchs who have kept quite will be getting very nervous as he puts their business interests at risk by alienating Russia from the international community, and he risks weakling his support.
This is a situation with no winner, only losers.