To understand the area and the population, think about national identity. The area in question - the Crimean Peninsula - was a historical part of the Russian Empire and then the Russian SSR during the Soviet period until 1954 when Khrushchev decided to hand it over in some misguided attempt to bind the two "nations" together. Especially considering how important Sevastopol is to the Russian navy.

So the population is ethnically Russian, Russian speaking with a Russian identity. No one in 1954 imagined the dissolution of the USSR in two generations. At the onset of instability in Ukraine, I only wish that the area had been given the chance to have a true referendum on its future. Based on polls, it would have chosen to return to being an integral part of Russia. But democracy and (true) referendums are not currently items that Putin has any belief in. The example that would have set for other parts of Russia would not have been one he would have wanted I imagine.

As for Eastern Ukraine - that area I leave alone completely. Every oblast seems to have a majority of ethnic Ukrainians. Though language politics complicates the picture in cities such as Donetsk. Those are areas that would do well to either be given greater autonomy or be given the chance to have a referendum on their future. Stay in Ukraine or join Russia. The history of the area is complicated and the the Russian policy of Russification has complicated the identity politics of the areas in question.

If you wish to find other media sources that are neither American nor Russian, try looking at English versions of European media like Der Spiegel. You will get a different viewpoint.