Putin: Ukraine should consider carving east into new state

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday sharply raised the stakes in the Ukraine conflict by calling for the first time for statehood to be considered for the eastern part of the country. Putin’s comments came after the European Union warned Russia that sanctions would be coming based on Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian unrest. Putin has this week sparked renewed speculation that he may be seeking to create a statelet in southeast Ukraine, after he employed a loaded Tsarist-era name “Novorossiya” to refer to the region.

It must be borne in mind that Russia cannot stand aside when people are being shot at almost at point blank.

President Vladimir Putin

Putin’s use of the word “statehood” was interpreted in Western media as implying backing for the rebel demand of independence, something Moscow has so far stopped short of publicly endorsing. The past week has seen Ukrainian forces flee in the path of a new rebel advance, drawing concern from Ukraine’s Western allies, who say armored columns of Russian troops came to the aid of a rebellion that would otherwise have been near collapse.

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