Russian President Vladimir Putin convened top officials Monday to consider recognizing the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, a move that would ratchet up tensions with the West amid fears that the Kremlin could launch an invasion of Ukraine imminently. The publicly staged, pre-recorded meeting of the presidential Security Council came amid a spike in skirmishes in eastern Ukraine that Western powers believe Russia could use as a pretext for an attack on the western-looking democracy that has defied Moscow’s attempts to pull it back into its orbit. With an estimated 150,000 Russian troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, the U.S. has warned that Moscow has already decided to invade. Still, the American and Russian presidents tentatively agreed to a possible meeting in a last-ditch effort to avoid war. If Russia invades, the meeting will be off, but the prospect of a face-to-face summit resuscitated hopes that diplomacy could prevent a devastating conflict, which would result in massive casualties and huge economic damage across Europe, which is heavily dependent on Russian energy. Even as the diplomatic efforts inched forward, potential flashpoints multiplied. Sustained shelling continued Monday in the long-running conflict in Ukraine’s east between government forces and Moscow-backed separatists. Unusually, Russia said it had fended off an “incursion” from Ukraine — which the Ukrainians officials denied. And Russia decided to prolong military drills in Belarus, which could offer a staging ground for an attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Putin’s decision to consider recognizing the separatist regions only threatened to add fuel to the fire. Leaders of the regions released televised statements earlier pleading with Putin to recognize them as independent states and sign friendship treaties envisaging military aid to protect them from what they described as an ongoing Ukrainian military offensive. Russia’s lower house of parliament made the same plea last week. Ukrainian authorities deny launching an offensive and accuse Russia of provocation. The Kremlin initially signaled its reluctance to recognize the regions as independent, arguing that would effectively shatter a 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine that marked a major diplomatic coup for Moscow, requiring Ukrainian authorities to offer a broad self-rule to the rebel regions. But in Monday’s security meeting, Putin and other officials argued that Ukrainian authorities have shown no appetite for implementing the deal. With the prospect of war looming, French President Emmanuel Macron scrambled to broker a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Putin, who denies he has any plans to attack Ukraine. Russia says it simply wants Western guarantees that NATO won’t allow Ukraine and other former Soviet countries to join as members. It has also demanded the alliance halt weapons deployments to Ukraine and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe — demands flatly rejected by the West. Macron’s office said both leaders had “accepted the principle of such a summit,” to be followed by a broader meeting that would include other “relevant stakeholders to discuss security and strategic stability in Europe.” The language from Moscow and Washington was more cautious, but neither side denied a meeting is under discussion. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the administration has always been ready to talk to avert a war — but was also prepared to respond to any attack. “So when President Macron asked President Biden yesterday if he […]

The post Putin Mulls Recognizing Separatist Eastern Ukrainian Regions appeared first on The Yeshiva World.