
All eyes are now on what Putin does next
CNN
After weeks of Western warnings of a multi-pronged, country-wide Russian invasion, Vladimir Putin's first military move on Ukraine was comparatively minor. What comes next is fluid.
After weeks of Western warnings of a multi-pronged, country-wide Russian invasion, Vladimir Putin's first military move on Ukraine was comparatively minor.
The Kremlin's recognition on Monday of the two separatist republics and decision to send Russian troops is the outrageous formalization of something that has already happened. I witnessed, in the early days of separatist gangs taking over the Donetsk administration in 2014, two men in navy military jumpers and matching buzzcuts, handing out Kenwood radios to protestors inside the administration's inner offices. This has always been an organized, Russian exercise -- it is just now they may soon have their flag flying over it. The violation of Ukraine's sovereignty happened eight years ago, signing the decrees and ordering in troops makes it more visible.