Putin Would Rather See Civil War In Ukraine Than A Western-Leaning Democracy
With the Kremlin isolating itself more from the international community every day, it becomes more likely Russia will meddle in or invade eastern Ukraine.
Since people in Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea voted to join Russia in a referendum on Sunday, fears are growing that Russian President Vladimir Putin will boost efforts to destabilize other regions in the largely pro-Moscow east of the country.
On Monday — in spite of protests from Kyiv that Crimea is not for the taking — Putin signed a decree recognizing the region as a sovereign state. Russian parliament is expected to vote this week on Crimea's application to join the Russian Federation.
With Moscow dismissing moves by Western countries to enact sanctions against Russia, GlobalPost’s Europe editor Gregory Feifer talks about what may come next.
GlobalPost: What exactly is happening in eastern Ukraine?
Gregory Feifer: Reports say that part of the country is crawling with Russian special forces seeking to whip up separatist sentiment. We’ve already seen pro-Russia protesters storm government buildings and hoist the Russian flag as well as beat rival pro-Ukraine demonstrators, killing at least one and injuring many more.
It’s a very dangerous, volatile situation.
I believe that far from pressuring Putin to ratchet down the tensions, the sanctions enacted against around 20 Russian and Ukrainian officials in connection to Moscow’s invasion of Crimea on Monday will be seen as weak — and actually reinforce his actions as a signal of their success.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario