Perhaps I will generate some ire for this comment, but here is how I think all the puzzle pieces fit together.
I have been trying to figure out what exactly is going on in the Ukraine for some time now as well. It is indeed a very multifaceted situation. What is basically now happening is that this is yet another attempt by the United States and Israel to geopolitically isolate Russia. You may recall the Syrian conflict from last year, which was basically the exact same thing - I believe that the current situation in Ukraine is merely a continuation of that policy. The Syrian adventure was a failure on the part of the U.S. and Israel, simply because the American people were vehemently against another war, and rightfully so. This time around however, things are being handled differently. The U.S.-Israeli coalition probably realized that it overplayed its hand far too much, and now they are being much craftier about the situation, instead staging a false flag operation rather than advocating direct military intervention.
It's no secret that the U.S. is funding the revolt in Ukraine. Meanwhile, American media is generally in support of the revolt, calling the deposition of a democratically elected government -and possibly replacing it with another corrupt one - a "reform" (democracy is great - until you vote for someone we don't like) and calls the violent revolutionaries "protesters" (protesters with guns?) and claims that they are some kind of right-wing nationalists. They are definitely NOT nationalists. Why would Euroskeptic nationalists want to JOIN the EU? Thatt makes no sense. What began as probably a legitimate protest by irate western Ukrainians is now basically being fought by mercenaries financed by Uncle Sam's loyal taxpayers.
And of course, this whole thing couldn't have come at a better time. The Sochi Olympics provided a perfect opportunity for America to drum up some popular support against Russia, by attempting to spin Russia's laws as "anti-gay" and further wag the finger at Putin while the world spotlight is on him and his country. In this case the United States is using the current social justice flavor of the week, which just happens to be homosexual rights, to do so.
Israel, this time, is nowhere to be found at least on the surface, but I am including them here despite the fact that we don't yet know Israel's true involvement in the situation for two reasons. First, the Semitic role in the revolution should not be ignored. The major players in the revolt - Victoria Nuland (nee Nudelman), Robert Kagan, Vitali Klitschko, Yulia Tymoshenko - are all Jews. I'm not sure what this means yet, but, just something to keep in mind. Secondly, and more importantly, it is useful to remember that not only is Israel one of America's greatest allies (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that American foreign policy is beholden to Israel), but the geopolitical isolation of Russia would be something that Israel would indeed benefit from, and thus it would make sense for them to be involved.