Yes. Cigarette smuggling from former Soviet states into the EU has long history.
Of the 75 billion cigarettes illegally smuggled into the European Union in 2008, it is claimed that 30 billion came from Ukraine.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+WQ+E-2009-5585+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
Belarus have a rather funny way to smuggle:)
Border inspectors in Lithuania found last year at least 2,500 cigarette packages coming floating, attached under the ice on the river Neris that flows from Belarus into the country.
https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2018-01-20/ett-isflak-kommer-lastat--med-cigaretter
Illegal tobacco trade is estimated to cost EU member states more than 10 billion euros in non-taxed income, according to the EU Anti-Fraud Office Olaf.
In addition to the border between Belarus and Lithuania, smuggling cigarettes come to the EU via ships and, for example, by road from Ukraine.
During three months two years ago 140 million cigarettes were seized and at least 32 suspected smugglers were arrested in a number of efforts around the EU.
Some use old planes like the An-2 when smuggling from Ukraine to Sweden:)
https://24kristianstad.se/fangelse-for-spektakular-smuggling

Often the Russian mafia is involved with even support from the FSB!
https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/06/12/how-the-world-of-spies-became-a-gangsters-paradise-russia-cyberattack-hack/

The use of criminals on the part of the Russian government even seemingly leads to the provocative cross-border raid into Estonia by Federal Security Service (FSB) commandos in 2014, during which they snatched Estonian security officer Eston Kohver. He was convicted on trumped-up espionage charges before being swapped for a Russian spy in an Estonian prison, but the main aim appears to have been to disrupt his investigation into a cigarette-smuggling ring. The criminals were moving untaxed or counterfeit cigarettes over the frontier with the FSB’s protection. In return, the Russians got a cut of their proceeds as chernaya kassa — “black account” — secret funds that could be used to pay off friends or support convenient political movements without revealing Moscow’s fingerprints.

A problem is that many of the post Soviet states has a large population of Russian ethnics.
Even have newspapers and websites that are pro-Russian.
The linked article about smuggling is from the Ukrainian website Strana.ua that generally follows the line taken by the current regime in Russia about all Ukrainian matters.
Examples of some fakes they have published.
https://www.stopfake.org/en/?s=strana.ua

History seems to repeat itself.
btw.
Just read that two counties, Halland and Skåne in southern Sweden, are joining Greater Copenhagen:)
They belonged to Denmark once that was an arch rival to Sweden.
The Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen will take over as chairman from the beginning of the year.
We built a bridge connecting Malmö and Copenhagen.
Russia built a bridge connecting Crimea and Russia.
Big difference though when it comes to intentions.

What to do if the ethnic minority in the country is angry and want more rights? Maybe to give them their language as the second official language?
Hm... Well, that minority, who are they?
Francophones? Yes, second official language, of course.
Albanians? Yes, of course.
Swedes? Yes, of course.
Kurds? Yes, of course.
Russians? No, no, no, no.

EURONEWS: Russia and Ukraine involved in Black Sea naval standoff

https://www.euronews.com/2018/11/25/russia-and-ukraine-involved-in-black-sea-naval-standoff

P.S. That's not all, some media reported about the two additional Ukraine navy ships that quickly moves to that area for reinforcement.
I think there is probability that the Ukrainian president want to escalate situation (if it will possible, but without real war, of course) and to declare the martial law as an only way to cancel elections and stay in power.

EURONEWS: Russia and Ukraine involved in Black Sea naval standoff

https://www.euronews.com/2018/11/25/russia-and-ukraine-involved-in-black-sea-naval-standoff

P.S. That's not all, some media reported about the two additional Ukraine navy ships that quickly moves to that area for reinforcement.
I think there is probability that the Ukrainian president want to escalate situation (if it will possible, but without real war, of course) and to declare the martial law as an only way to cancel elections and stay in power.

The Sea of Azov is shared by BOTH Ukraine and Russia!
To get to the port of Mariupol you need to cross the Sea of Azov.

https://defence-blog.com/news/russias-coast-guard-ships-intentionally-rammed-ukranian-navy-vessel.html

Russia’s coast guard ships on Sunday intentionally carried out acts of aggression against the ships of the Ukrainian Navy that were engaged in planned relocation from the port of Odesa to the port of Mariupol of the Sea of Azov, the Ukrainian Navy said.

Apparently Russia thinks the Kerch Strait is the territorial sea of ​​the Russian Federation.
They have now blocked the passage under the Kerch bridge.

http://www.kerch.com.ru/articleview.aspx?id=78295
http://www.kerch.com.ru/articleview.aspx?id=78296
While both countries promised free access to the Sea of Azov, Russia has increased its military presence and inspections, with some calling its actions an "economic blockade" of Ukraine's Azov ports in the east of the country.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46333976

Ukraine is (fill-in the negatives)

23 years Ukraine refused to give Russian minority their language as the second official language. Consequences of this policy substantially promoted events of 2014 and later.

Putin is trying to incorporate another Sovereign Nation in Imperialist Russia's attempt at restoring the borders of the mass murdering and enslaving Soviet Union.

LOL.
All is simpler. Putin tries to prevent the joining Ukraine to NATO.
And do you still live in 1930th? I didn't see mass murdering and enslaving in the USSR in 1960th-1980th years. BTW, many people of modern Russia and Kazakhstan prefer USSR, as social and fair state, in comparison with their modern states.

Putin suggested that he'd reverse the collapse of the Soviet Union if he could.

No, in context, he answered question "what event in past you would like to change if you could", it was not a sense "to reverse" or "to prevent". He is builder of capitalism, he regularly blame the communist party of USSR and he gradually destroy remains of the social guarantees and other good things which still remained from USSR.

Putin could of course, invite those Russians in another Sovereign Nation into the present Russian Federation borders.

Why it was impossible in case of Albanians, Swedes, etc?

Russia seizes three Ukrainian boats, six wounded; Poroshenko gathers Military Cabinet
https://www.unian.info/society/10351551-russia-seizes-three-ukrainian-boats-two-wounded-poroshenko-gathers-military-cabinet.html
The countries blame each other for the incident. Ukraine's government said it would declare martial law.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46338671
Statement by the EU Spokesperson on the escalating tensions in the Azov Sea.
https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/54392/statement-spokesperson-escalating-tensions-azov-sea_en

Clyde, you don't understand (or you specially try not to understand) very simple thing. Territories and borders is not the economic and social system. When I mentioned people who prefer USSR, I meant comparison of social systems mainly. Putin is capitalism builder, he said about geopolitical disaster, and it's right, it was really geopolitical disaster, but he never said that he want return of socialism or that he against capitalism.
About occupation of another sovereign country - of course, it's bad thing. But it was not occupation in the Crimea, it was reunion. Crimea is other case, as the USA says the Kosovo is other case. :-)

Perhaps the Kerch incident is Much Ado About Nothing:)
Here is an analysis by a Russian former merchant navigator.
https://maritimebulletin.net/2018/11/26/kerch-strait-incident-in-detail-analysis/

If incident reveals anything, it is first of all, Russian Navy and Coast Guard total lack of any plans or training to stop Ukrainian ships in some more or less orderly manner.
Why didn’t Russian military do it in Russian waters? There’s only one explanation – local Command didn’t know what to do and how to react, Moscow didn’t know, either. Hours later Moscow decided to play tough and sent a bunch of ships to pursue and stop Ukrainian ships. It was a demonstration of overwhelming force, there wasn’t any practical meaning in it, after they failed to stop Ukrainian ships in their own waters. It was an act of revenge and deterrence, it wasn’t defence because there wasn’t any threat, in the first place.

Aha! On one of the ships of the Ukrainian Navy there were two officers of the special services, one from SBU.
"At one of the interrogations there were two officers of the security services of Ukraine, who admitted that they had a special task - to act in exactly this way. We will also tell about this," Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, said on Monday at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
http://tass.com/politics/1032746

MOSCOW, November 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday it has questioned Ukrainian servicemen who were detained following the incident in the Kerch Strait.
The FSB has posted a video coverage of the questioning session.
Among those questioned were Andrei Drach (from the Nikolpol boat), an officer of the 7th main military intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian Security Service, Sergei Tsybizov, a sailor from the Nikopol, Vladimir Lesovoi, commander of the auxiliary vessels division of the Ukrainian South naval base.

If they where from the special services, why didn't they chose to go boat instead of by car from Odesa to Mariupol...

Putin Condemns Ukrainian People’s Unprovoked 1,000-Year Occupation Of South Russia:)
https://www.theonion.com/putin-condemns-ukrainian-people-s-unprovoked-1-000-year-1830667218/
Does history not demonstrate that millions of South Russian civilians have perished in the occupied region since Oleg of Novgorod first captured Kiev in 882? The Ukrainians must pay dearly for their deceitful and prolonged attack.” Putin went on to demand that all Poles, Finns, and Lithuanians immediately withdraw from their regions of occupied Russia as well.

;-)

Ukrainian president asks Trump to deliver pointed message to Putin,"Please get out of the Ukraine , Mr Putin.".

Trump should send a naval fleet over their to demonstrate "Freedom of Navigation" rights.

Oh that's right, he's Putin's bestest friend isn't he so that's unlikely to happen.

Clyde. The Onion article is of course a satire:)
But now I really think Putin/Kremlin actually think in those manners.
Putin seems to have more ambitions then Tsar Peter the Great.
To expand west in order to protect Moscow and of course St Petersburg from "invaders".
Well some have tried to invade, like Sweden, France and Germany:) But since then?
Today the "invaders" or should I say "threat", according to Kremlin, are the EU and NATO countries and those countries that eventually could become part of NATO or the EU.
Today it's Ukraine that learn this the hard way.
Which neighbouring country next?

Or perhaps Swedish ethnics that have lived in Ukraine since the 1700's very close to Crimea are also a threat?
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/oron-vaxer-i-svenskbyn-i-ukraina-kan-forbereda-oss-att-flytta-till-sverige

Trump should send a naval fleet over their to demonstrate "Freedom of Navigation" rights.

Please, don't let him do it.
That's exactly what Kremlin want him to do.
And they are prepared like that the British Royal Navy experienced!
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/royal-navy-destroyer-swarmed-by-17-russian-jets-in-black-sea/

Trump should send a naval fleet over their to demonstrate "Freedom of Navigation" rights.

Please, don't let him do it.
That's exactly what Kremlin want him to do.
And they are prepared like that the British Royal Navy experienced!
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/royal-navy-destroyer-swarmed-by-17-russian-jets-in-black-sea/

Nice of the Ruskies to put up so many targets so that the SAMPSON radar system could be tested.