The White House and key European allies are now calling Russia's movement of troops into two rebel-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine an "invasion," with fears raised that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ambitions beyond recognizing the Donbas territories as his country's own.
Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense under President Barack Obama from 2011-13 and CIA Director from 2009-11, and Steven Pife, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine under President Bill Clinton from 1998-2000, told KCBS Radio on Tuesday they believe Russia's actions have seemingly aimed to make the "case for a broader conflict."
Putin on Monday said Russia would recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have claimed each of the provinces as their own territory since 2014. The Russia-backed separatists control about 35% of the provinces, according to Pife.
Russian lawmakers on Tuesday authorized Putin to use military force outside of the country, and Russian forces embarked into the rebel-held regions. In his speech on Monday, Putin made the ahistorical claim Ukraine was "created by Russia."
The U.S. on Tuesday issued its first sanctions against Russia, indicating there was more to come should the country venture further into Ukraine. Neither Pife nor Panetta were optimistic sanctions would provide much, if any, deterence.
"But I'm not sure sanctions are going to change Mr. Putin," Pife told KCBS Radio's Jeff Bell and Patti Reising on Tuesday night. "Yesterday, he gave an hourlong, rambling list of grievances, and it was not building the case for the recognition of the so-called people's republics of Donestk and Luhansk, but it seemed to be the case for a broader conflict."
Russia has positioned 150,000 troops on three sides of Ukraine's border, while the U.S. on Tuesday said it would send almost 800 troops to NATO's eastern flank bordering Russia. On Friday, President Joe Biden said he was "convinced" Russia would invade Ukraine and target its capital, Kyiv, in the process.
"The issue as to whether or not it will deter Putin, I think, may well be past," Panetta told the anchors on Tuesday afternoon, calling this "a dangerous moment for the world." "It really appears that he has decided on an invasion of the Ukraine."
Related
