The Ukraine crisis seems to have deteriorated further as Russian president Vladimir Putin has now asked for "statehood" for east Ukraine. While the west is condemning Moscow's increasing involvement in the affairs of Ukraine, Putin has raised the issue of "statehood" in a clear flexing of muscles.
Kremlin earlier annexed Crimea, an autonomous region of Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and its Western backers had to sallow this even though they still maintain that Crimea remains a part of Ukraine. Now that Putin has come out more aggressively on the demand of a new state for the pro-Russian people in the eastern Ukraine, the crisis in the former Soviet republic has taken a new turn.
Meanwhile, NATO has alleged that Russia has deployed 20,000 troops along the border of Ukraine. NATO chief Anders Rasmussen has asked Kremlin to "pull back from the brink." Western nations feared that Russia could be preparing to send troops to Ukraine in the guise of a humanitarian mission. NATO's warning came following reports that Putin met with his security council to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine. The West believes that Moscow has sent its troops to Ukraine to assist the separatists against government troops. The capture of several Russian soldiers is a testimony to this allegation. Kremlin said its troops mistakenly crossed the border. Anyway, a swap of the captured Russian and Ukraine soldiers has taken place, both sides have confirmed.
Earlier, Russia warned Ukraine of "catastrophic consequences" unless it halted a military operation against the "pro-Moscow" gunmen in eastern Ukraine. On the other hand, the United States and its European allies have threatened Moscow with more sanctions and other forms of punishment if Russia continued to destabilise Ukraine. The situation worsened as Putin said the Geneva accord among the US, Ukraine, EU and his country on certain matters relating to the crisis is "now dead". Clearly, Kremlin is planning a new strategy in eastern Ukraine - similar to what it did in Crimea.
Tensions and hostilities continue to characterise the Ukraine scenario with the United States and the European Union stepping up the pressure on Moscow over the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. Tensions on the ground further spiked when pro-Russian separatists seized several towns in eastern Ukraine. Moscow seems to be in no mood to control its supporters in eastern Ukraine. It claims that it has no control over the rebels who are acting on their own taking a pro-Russian stance. The US and the EU have flatly rejected Moscow's views on the issue and slapped more sanctions to dissuade Russia from its further involvement in the unrest in Ukraine. Moscow says that it has no plan to invade Ukraine, but the West is hardly assured by such protestations and continues to mount pressure on Russia through economic and other form of restrictions.
The West has imposed fresh sanctions on Russia after being sure about the involvement of Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that new sanctions would build on existing measures against Russia which mainly cover financial services, armaments and energy. However, Kremlin has described such measures as of no consequences.
President Putin's latest stance on the Ukraine crisis is a clear signal that he is eyeing on the interest of pro-Russian separatists in a bigger way. He has also defended Moscow's action in Crimea, saying that it was necessary in the interest of Russia and its friends. The presence of Putin in Crimea some time ago only showed that Moscow is serious in asserting its authority despite stiff opposition from the West.
The Ukraine crisis is shrouded in uncertainty and much would depend on how the new president of Ukraine deals with the pro-Russian separatists and the extent of support and assistance by the West to the Kiev government. Moscow has accused Ukraine of breaching the Geneva convention by killing the "innocent" pro-Russian people while the Kiev government has vowed to take on the separatists at any cost.
The shooting down of the Malaysian passenger aircraft in the troubled region's airspace killing all onboard added further fuel to the volatility of the Ukraine tangle. While both sides accused each other for the incident, most people believe that it was probably the act of the Russian separatists. The accusations and counter-accusations only further queered the pitch of the crisis.
President Putin had so far remained confined within the demand of certain rights for the pro-Russian people in eastern Ukraine under a federal structure of the Kiev government. But now he has come out with the idea of "statehood" for eastern Ukraine and this has further complicated the Ukrainian situation.
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