Is It a Russian ‘Invasion’? Ukraine, Western Leaders Say Not Yet
- EU and Ukraine describe separatist decree as escalation
- Russia vows to send ‘peacekeeping forces’ to recognized areas
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Many Western leaders are shying away from saying Vladimir Putin’s move to recognize two self-proclaimed separatist republics in eastern Ukraine amounts to the invasion they’d been warning would likely come, even as the Russian president orders his forces to start deploying to the breakaway areas.
In a televised address to the nation early on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Putin’s actions merely “legalized” troops he said were already present in the self-proclaimed republics since a conflict began with breakaway forces in 2014. Russia has long backed the separatists while refuting claims it arms them or has its own soldiers in the area. It’s unclear how quickly its troops might now go in, and in what number.