Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Monday evening that he would recognize the independence of two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine while ordering his troops to advance into the two regions to “keep the peace”.
The advancement could and could not be considered an invasion of Ukraine as the two regions were already controlled by Russian-backed separatists and Moscow in practice.
U.S. and European countries earlier condemned the Kremlin on the move to invade Ukraine and vow to sanction if Russia chooses to do so.
