I think everyone's playing dirty, all aforementioned characters. Our global socioeconomic system forces them to. I'll concede that no one's 100% genuine, but politics requires a certain breed of bullshitter. Only the best. Anyone care to place some bets on future actions?
My guess is that Putin sees a good bargaining position, and he is taking it. NATO is not going to move into Ukraine against Russian forces, but I doubt that Putin wants to kick off a civil war there. I don't see them rushing Yanukovych back into Crimea, only threatening to do so.
Whatever politcal/economic concessions he is currently interested in drawing from the US and the EU. I wouldn't guess at what specifically, however, I can imagine that threatening a situation that the West really doesn't want, yet can do very little to prevent, could put him in a strong negotiating position.