Putin considers independence in 2 Ukraine areas

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday he would decide by the end of the day whether to recognise two rebel regions of Ukraine as independent, a move that could set off a potentially catastrophic conflict with Kyiv’s Western-backed government.

Presiding over a long and carefully stage-managed meeting of his powerful Security Council, Putin listened to senior officials say it was time for Russia to recognise the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent, AFP reports.

“I have heard your opinions. The decision will be taken today,” the Russian leader said after the meeting, which aired on state television for more than 90 minutes.

Such recognition would put an end to an already shaky peace plan in the separatist conflict, which has rumbled on since 2014 after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine and has left more than 14,000 dead.

Russia could then move in troops to protect hundreds of thousands of residents in the regions who have been granted Russian passports, justifying an intervention as a defence of its citizens.

Ukraine would either have to accept the loss of a huge chunk of territory, or face an armed conflict with its vastly more powerful neighbour.

Putin told the security council there were “no prospects” for the 2015 Minsk peace accords aimed at resolving the conflict and made clear that the stakes were bigger than ex-Soviet Ukraine, whose efforts to join NATO and the European Union have deeply angered Moscow.