Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will support the territorial claims of its proxy states in east Ukraine, dramatically increasing the likelihood of a larger war in the near future.
Putin confirmed that Russia had recognised the expanded borders of the two Russian-controlled territories in east Ukraine in remarks to the press.
“We recognised the states,” he said. "That means we recognised all of their fundamental documents, including the constitution, where it is written that their [borders] are the territories at the time the two regions were part of Ukraine.
His dry explanation has explosive consequences: Russia could use the territorial claims as a cause to launch an invasion of more Ukrainian territory, saying it was defending the interests of its proxy states in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Putin stopped short of saying that he was about to launch a further invasion.
But we expect, and I want to underline this, that all the difficult questions will be solved during negotiations between the current Kyiv government and the leadership of this government.
But Kyiv has always resisted negotiating directly with the governments of the Russian-controlled territories, saying it wants to speak with Moscow directly.
Having recognised the territories and received authorisation to use military force abroad on Tuesday evening, it has become clear that Russia is building the framework for what could be a broader conflict in Ukraine.
liveuamap.com
www.theguardian.com
