Transatlantic Relations Program Senior Fellow Adrian Karatnycky is quoted in USA Today on Russia’s gambit in Crimea:
Entering other parts of Ukraine, however, would be far more difficult for Russian forces and Russia’s interests there are less clear. Russia would meet resistance from the public and Ukrainian forces. Even eastern Ukraine, where there is a significant ethnic Russian presence, Russian forces would receive a mixed reception at best, analysts say.
In those regions they would likely face guerrilla warfare and attacks on infrastructure, including a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to Europe, said Adrian Karatnycky, an analyst with the Atlantic Council. “It would be a bloody mess,” he said.