MOSCOW (AP) – It was a piece of fast-moving political theater in Moscow, a carefully orchestrated political announcement years in the making.
Russian President Vladimir Putin moved quickly on Monday to recognize the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, framing his show of defiance against the West in a series of nationally televised appearances that came amid Western fears of Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Immediately after the pro-Russian leaders of Ukraine’s separatist “people’s republics” were shown on Russian TV pleading with Putin to acknowledge them as independent states, Putin chaired a Kremlin meeting Monday in which a lineup of senior Russian officials all backed the move.
Hours later, Putin spoke in an hour-long televised address to the nation and then was shown on TV signing the recognition decrees.
The quick move by Putin represents a sharp change of course for the Kremlin, which in the past hoped to use a 2015 peace agreement brokered by France and Germany to have Ukraine’s rebel regions gain more power inside the country to stymie its bid for NATO membership. The strategy didn’t work, because most Ukrainians resented the deal as a betrayal of national interests and its implementation has stalled.