Putin Weighs Up War and Peace as Ukraine Conflict Flares
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The cease-fire keeping eastern Ukraine from sliding into all-out war is on the brink of collapse and Vladimir Putin has decisions to make.
As fighting flares in the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and the Kiev government trades accusations with rebels about who’s to blame, Putin must weigh demands to help end the conflict or face further isolation and collapsing investor confidence. Aside from easing tensions, his choices include open war, a “frozen conflict” to retain leverage over Ukraine, and a winter of low-intensity fighting to bleed his neighbor’s resources, according to analysts from Russia to the U.S.